MEXICO CITY, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Mexican restaurant operator Alsea on Thursday reported net profit of 173 million pesos ($8.4 million) in the third quarter, far outdoing analyst estimates as it credited a rebound in sales after the pandemic's toll on the dining industry.

The company, which operates franchises of coffee chain Starbucks as well as Domino's Pizza, Burger King and others, posted a loss in the third quarter last year.

The improvement was due to lower costs resulting from "the recovery in sales after reduced restrictive measures related to the pandemic," Chief Executive Alberto Torrado said in a statement.

The company posted revenue in the July-to-September period of 13.96 billion pesos, in line with analyst estimates and up from 9.9 billion pesos a year earlier.

As in previous quarters, Starbucks and Domino's Pizza saw some of the best growth across Alsea's markets.

Alsea's sales from delivery orders increased 18%, representing nearly a fifth of total sales. Torrado said the company expected deliveries would stay strong even after COVID-19 restrictions are completely lifted.

"The pandemic has generated a permanent change," he said.

The company noted it was still working to pull past the effects of the pandemic, especially in its casual and family restaurants.

Alsea began the year with a loss in the first few months, before turning a profit in the second and third quarters.

"We are working hard to recover traffic," Torrado said. "We are sure that as people go back to work in their offices ... the company figures will improve, contributing to growth in the last quarter of the year."

($1 = 20.6420 pesos at end-September) (Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon and Noe Torres; Editing by Alistair Bell and Stephen Coates)