Hamburger Hamlet’s 3rd Quarter Profit Surges

Hamburger Hamlet Restaurants Inc. said its net income for the third quarter ended Sept. 27 rose to $885,000, from $130,000 a year earlier, on a 27% increase in revenue, to $16.68 million from $13.18 million in the previous year.

The Sherman Oaks-based chain attributed the sales growth to the opening of several new restaurants this year. Sales at restaurants that existed a year ago, or same-store revenue, declined almost 1% in the third quarter from a year earlier.

For the nine months ended Sept. 27, Hamburger Hamlet had a profit of $2.25 million, in contrast to a loss of $233,000 in the same period a year ago. Revenue through three quarters increased 19%, to $46.95 million from $39.51 million a year earlier.

So far this year, Hamburger Hamlet opened four new stores, its latest in Simi Valley. The company plans to open a restaurant in the Washington suburb of Alexandria, Va., this December. The company owns and operates 30 restaurants, most of them in Southern California.