Fruitas Holdings Inc., a leading food cart operator, returned to profitability in the second quarter on the back of a triple-digit growth in sales as more stores reopened.
Fruitas said in a disclosure to the stock exchange second-quarter net income rebounded to P7 million from a net loss of P8.6 million recorded in the same period last year.
Second-quarter revenues jumped nearly 200 percent to P262 from P87.9 million in the same period last year when the government implemented the strictest lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Sales contribution from community stores in the second quarter reached 15 percent in line with the continued network expansion even as certain kiosks remained temporarily closed.
“As we record our first quarterly net income since the pandemic, we will continue to ‘quarantine-proof’ our business. Our community stores remained resilient and have been instrumental in our push to generate more demand for our products online,” Fruitas president and chief executive Lester Yu said.
Gross margin in the second quarter improved to 60.6 percent from 59.2 percent recorded in the same period last year and 58.1 percent before the pandemic.
The company said that as of end-June, its store network included 67 community stores and newly-acquired Balai Pandesal stores.
“Our wider network now allows easier access to and faster delivery of Fruitas products. It also makes us an attractive partner for other companies which want to target the same consumer base,” Yu said.
Fruitas still posted a net loss of P8.6 million in the first half, narrower compared to a net loss of P12.3 million the same period last year.
First-half revenues rose 13 percent to P524 million from P462 million a year ago, but still 44 percent lower than the pre-pandemic level of P941 million in the first half of 2019.
The company said the average daily sales per store already recovered to about 70 percent of pre-pandemic level.