UPDATE: Chipotle Profit Hit By U.S. Economy, Food Costs

By Matt Andrejczak

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) -- Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. warned Friday its third-quarter profit and sales will be hurt due to cash-strapped U.S. consumers and surging food costs. Its shares tumbled 18% in early trading.

The U.S. restaurant industry is facing leaner times as consumers are spending less money to eat out. So far, casual sit-down restaurants have been harder hit than the fast-food sector.

Chipotle, which sells burritos, tacos and other quick-service dishes, said it expects third-quarter net income to fall slightly below the year-ago figure of 62 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet Research had expected Chipotle to earn 72 cents a share in the quarter.

Denver-based Chipotle (CMG) said it faces further sales deceleration at its 775 fast-food outlets. The company said comparable restaurant sales, or sales at outlets open at least one year, will be in the "mid to low single digits."

Its previous forecast called for mid-single-digit increase. To combat rising costs for food-ingredients, Chipotle also said it plans to implement a national pricing strategy for its menu.

LATIN AMERICAN MARKETS: Mexican, Brazilian Equities End Higher; Mixed For The Week

By Carla Mozee

Major Latin American markets finished higher Friday but mixed for the week. Mexican stocks were slightly higher despite a sharp decline in shares of Cemex SAB following a weak forecast from the cement maker.

Mexico's IPC fought off earlier losses to finish up 35 points, or 0.14%, at 25,558.41. The result was enough to snap a three-day losing streak, but not enough to keep the index from posting a weekly loss, of 1.4%.

Cemex (CX) shares put in the worst performance Friday, down 7.5% after the company late Thursday issued a third-quarter forecast that disappointed analysts. Among its projections, sales will be $5.9 billion, or flat compared with the year-ago period, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization will be about $1.25 billion, down 3% from last year.

EBITDA for 2008 will come in between $4.6 billion to $4.7 billion, with about half of the decline due to a lower-than-expected performance in its U.S. operations, said Cemex. Its results will also reflect a negative foreign- exchange effect of roughly $100 million, largely because of the weaker euro.

Credit Suisse noted Friday that the company may face a higher effective tax rate because of a Mexican Supreme Court decision overturning a ruling that protected the company from paying taxes related to investments in offshore tax havens.