Lake Forest-based Del Taco Restaurants Inc. reported net income of about $3.1 million for the first quarter of 2016 compared with a $4.9 million loss year-over-year.
Revenue for the quarter was up about 3% to $97 million.
The 8 cents a share profit fell a penny short of analyst expectations.
The fast food chain expects diluted earnings of 53 to 56 cents per share in 2016 on revenue of $439 million to $449 million.
The company said California’s new minimum wage act would increase labor costs by about $7.2 million this year.
Shares in Del Taco closed down in Monday trading but rose again after hours on its results to a market cap of about $350 million.
