The giant fast food chain Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) reported on Tuesday that it had made P2.7 billion in net profit from January to March, up 23% from P2.2 billion in the same period in 2023 thanks to robust sales.
Systemwide sales jumped 10% to P86.8 billion from P78.6 billion, driven by new store openings and volume increases, while revenues improved by 11.3 percent to P61.3 billion from P55.1 billion.
JFC Chief Executive Officer Ernesto Tanmantiong said, “The Jollibee Group had an exciting start to the year with a performance that exceeded our profit outlook for the first quarter.” “Our strong top line growth, coupled with greater operational efficiencies and effective expense management, led to an expansion in our profit margins.”
Tanmantiong emphasized that foreign operations grew by 25% over the prior year, while the group’s main brand Jollibee led the way with a 15.8% gain.
Same-store sales growth (SSSG) for the domestic company was 6.9 percent, while 3.2 percent was reported for the overseas sector.
While average daily sales at Smashburger have improved month over month, the company’s SSSG fell by 4.1 percent. Meanwhile, JFC’s China business witnessed a 3.7 percent fall after a stellar year.
Attributable earnings for the first quarter of 2023 increased by 27% to P2.6 billion, thanks to a 14% increase in operational profit at the Jollibee Group to P4.1 billion.
According to JFC Chief Financial Officer Richard Shin, “we ended 2023 on a high note, and I am pleased that we are starting this year from a strong position.” “Our business fundamentals are solid, and we are poised to continue our growth trajectory by leveraging our strong brands and strategic investments to support our long-term growth plans.”
With 5.3 percent more stores than the previous year, the group had 6,886 operational locations worldwide at the end of March. The Philippines accounted for 3,337 of these. When it comes to the number of stores, Jollibee (1,676), Highlands Coffee (782), Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (1,165), and Chowking (616) are the biggest brands.
Towards P219.60 per share on Tuesday, Jollibee’s stock increased by 80 centavos, or 0.37 percent.
