Jollibee’s net profit grew 33% in Q1 to P895M

MANILA, Philippines — Fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. grew its first quarter net profit by 33 percent year-on-year to P895 million on the back of growth in same-store sales alongside the improvement in operating margins.

Revenues went up by 10 percent to P18.15 billion from a year ago. This was supported by the same pace of growth in system-wide sales — a measure of all sales to consumers both from company-owned and franchised stores — to P23.84 billion.

The Philippine business expanded by 9.7 percent, aided by spending ahead of the mid-term elections. Business grew in China by 18.9 percent, in Southeast Asia and the Middle East by 22.9 percent while in the United States, business declined by a modest 0.7 percent. Overseas sales went up by 14.5 percent.

JFC chief executive officer Tony Tan Caktiong said new product introductions, existing product improvement and good product value perception by consumers have been driving same-store sales growth across all brands in the Philippines and in the international market.

“In the Philippines, practically all same store sales growth came from increased volume from higher consumer visits. The stable commodity prices and low inflation rates allowed us to avoid price increases while continually improving our product menu, taste and quality. The healthy growth of the economy and the election spending also contributed to our strong sales performance,” Caktiong said.