MEXICO CITY, April 23 (Reuters) - Fast-food chain

operator Alsea reported on Tuesday a 34% fall in its

first-quarter net profit, driven mainly by foreign exchange

swings and weaker consumption in some of its markets.

Net profit during the January-to-March period for the

Mexico-based company stood at 404.1 million pesos ($24.3

million), according to a filing, coming in under expectations.

Alsea, which operates chain restaurants and cafes including

Starbucks ( SBUX ), Burger King and Domino's Pizza

, also reported a 3% rise in quarterly revenue compared

with the same period last year to total 18.2 billion pesos.

Quarterly revenue would have risen more than 12% had it not

been for the impact of currency exchange fluctuations, the

company said in a separate statement.

Analysts polled by LSEG had forecast a quarterly net profit

of 484.9 million pesos from revenues seen at 18.3 billion pesos.

Alsea operates in a dozen countries across Europe and Latin

America, and registers more than half its sales in Mexico and

close to a third across western Europe.

The foreign exchange impact in Alsea's home market of Mexico

was especially significant; Mexico's peso currency appreciated

more than 8% against the U.S. dollar in the January-to-March

period versus a year earlier.

In the statement, CEO Armando Torrado nodded to the peso's

"challenging" strength, which made Mexican costs more expensive

in dollar terms, as well as lackluster consumption, primarily in

France and South America.

During the first three months of this year, the company's

Mexico sales rose by 13%, while sales in South America fell by

18%.

Alsea deployed 940 million pesos in capital spending during

the quarter.

Last month, Chief Financial Officer Federico Rodriguez said

the company plans to invest 6 billion pesos this year.

($1 = 16.5310 Mexican pesos at end-March)