TORONTO - Freshii Inc. swung to a $2.5-million loss in its first quarter as revenue fell 11 per cent from a year ago.

The Toronto-based chain of eateries says it lost eight cents per share for the period ended March 29, when 37 per cent of its locations were closed because of the pandemic.

Freshii, which reports in U.S. dollars, earned $103,000 or zero cents per share in the same quarter a year earlier.

Excluding one-time items, Freshii lost $1.21 million, compared with a profit of $597,000 in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue fell to $4.56 million from $5.14 million as same-store sales decreased 14.3 per cent, compared with 0.9 per cent growth a year ago.

System-wide sales from its 467 locations in 16 countries came in at $37.2 million down from $43.2 million a year ago.