(Reuters) - Australia-listed Guzman y Gomez said on Friday its first-half earnings nearly doubled on strong demand for its breakfast menu, putting the Mexican-themed fast-food chain firmly on track to beat its forecast for annual profit.

The company recorded a post-tax profit of A$7.3 million ($4.67 million) for the six months ended December 31, compared with the A$3.8 million a year ago and the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of A$6.5 million.

That well places the quick-service restaurant chain to beat its prospectus forecast of A$6.0 million profit for fiscal 2025, provided before it debuted on the Australian Stock Exchange in June last year.

GYG raised about A$335.1 million in what was Australia's biggest initial public offering in three years.

Its performance is being closely scrutinised by investors to gauge whether the company, pitched as a "growth" stock due to its original franchise IP and ambitious targets, can live up to its billing.

Shares of the company fell 4% to A$43.15 in early trading on Friday, valuing it just below A$4.5 billion. The share price has grown nearly twofold from the issue price of A$22 apiece in just eight months.

The quick-service restaurant chain — which has 239 stores globally, with 210 in Australia alone — said its Australia network sales grew 22.7% to A$538.2 million and continued to outperform expectations in the initial weeks of the second half with 12.2% comparable growth.

"Australian sales growth during the period was underpinned by restaurant capacity expansion, dayparts growth, particularly in breakfast, which experienced 19% comparable sales growth," the company said.

GYG's global network sales jumped 23% to A$578 million in fiscal 2024, though it fell short of the market consensus of A$567.7 million.

($1 = 1.5637 Australian dollars)