Jollibee Foods Corp., the biggest fast-food chain, is delaying the planned initial public offering of majority-owned unit SuperFoods Group in Vietnam because of the strong performance of the company.
JFC chairman Tony Tancaktiong said in an interview at the sidelines of the annual stockholders’ meeting Friday that Superfoods was currently doing well, registering one of the fastest growths in terms of profitability, margin and return in investment.
“We are reviewing the timetable for that. Because the company is very profitable, there is less pressure for us to raise funds,” Tancaktiong said.
“The later we go public the higher valuation we will get,” he added.
Superfoods is a joint venture between JFC and Viet Thai International Joint Stock Company (VTI). It owns and operates the brands Highlands Coffee and Pho24, and is a franchisee of Hard Rock Cafe in Vietnam.
JFC and VTI were originally planned to conduct the Superfoods IPO in July 2019.
JFC chief finance officer Ysmael Baysa said Superfoods was aggressive with the store expansion in Vietnam, aiming to open 100 Highlands Coffee stores annually over the next five years.
Superfoods also plans to bring Pho 24 stores outside Vietnam, especially in the United States, Hong Kong and Europe.
“Pho 24 has very high same-store-sales in Vietnam. But we think we can create more value if we open Pho 24 stores outside Vietnam. It is very attractive in metropolitan places because it is very healthy Vietnamese food,” Baysa said.
Highlands Coffee serves Vietnamese coffee and light meals in trendy coffee shops. It also sells packaged coffee through retail outlets.
Pho 24, meanwhile, serves traditional Vietnamese dishes with rice noodles as core products.
The Superfoods Group aims to offer Asian consumers high-quality coffee and café experience at affordable prices through the Highlands Coffee shops and the Highlands Coffee packaged products. It plans to serve consumers in Asia and key cities in the world with high quality and healthy Vietnamese food at affordable prices through the Pho 24 brand.