Fastfood chain operator Jollibee Foods Corp. said Tuesday its first-quarter net profit surged 26.9 percent to P2.6 billion from P2.06 billion in the same period last year on the back of the sustained growth in domestic and overseas businesses.
System-wide sales, a measure of sales from franchised and company-owned stores, went up 10.4 percent to P86.8 billion, led by a 6.9-percent increase in same store sales growth (SSSG) of Philippine business and 3.2-percent hike in SSSG of international business.
“The Jollibee Group had an exciting start to the year with a very good performance that exceeded our profit outlook for the first quarter. Our revenue growth of 11.3 percent translated to robust 13.7 percent and 26.9 percent growth in operating income and net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company, respectively,” Jollibee chief executive Ernesto Tanmantiong said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.
“Our healthy top line growth combined with further operational efficiencies and effective management of expenses,” said Tanmantiong. Jenniffer B. Austria
Jollibee chief finance officer Richard Shin said the first-quarter results were slightly ahead of the group’s projected growth rates for 2024.
“Our business fundamentals are strong, and we are poised to continue our growth trajectory, leveraging the strength of our brands and strategic investments to support our long-term growth plans,” Shin said.
Jollibee earlier targeted a 10-percent to 14-percent increase in system-wide sales, 5-percent to 7-percent increase in SSSG and 10-percent to 15-percent increase in operating profit growth.
The company ended the first quarter with a network of 6,886 stores worldwide, of which 3,337 are in the Philippines and 3,549 are overseas.
The group plans to open 700 to 750 stores here and abroad in 2024.
It budgeted P23 billion for capital expenditure for store expansion and renovation and plans to issue up to P8 billion worth of preferred shares to refinance debt and partially finance its store rollout.
Jollibee recently announced its investment in Botrista Inc. (Botrista), a company that has developed a robotic drinks solution for the food industry. It also increased to 90 percent its stake in Titan Fund II, which plans to make strategic investments in food and beverage concepts in Asia Pacific.
“We will capitalize on these important opportunities to grow our business with strategic partners and investments and continue to create both near- and long-term value for our stakeholders,” Shin said.
