Earnings Off 55% for Hamburger Hamlet

Hamburger Hamlet Restaurants Inc. of Sherman Oaks, continuing to be stung by the weak Southern California market, reported a 55% decline in its third-quarter earnings.

During the period ended Sept. 30, the restaurant operator had net income of $400,000, down from its $885,000 profit a year earlier. Its revenue rose 3%, to $17.1 million from $16.7 million.

For the nine months, the company’s earnings fell 53%, to $1.06 million from $2.25 million a year before. Revenue was $51.6 million, a 10% increase from $47 million in revenue in the comparable 1992 period.

Hamburger Hamlet, which owns 33 restaurants, mostly in Southern California, said it was also hurt by the temporary closure of a Maryland restaurant and the loss of its lease at its Woodland Hills location.