Jollibee nets P1.2B in Q1, up 10.2%

LOCAL fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. posted a first quarter net profit of P1.2 billion, up by 10.2 percent year-on-year, supported by higher sales across its growing store network.

System-wide sales went up by 9.5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter to P29.91 billion. Revenues went up by 10 percent to P23 billion over the same period last year.

The growth in sales was driven by a 5.3 percent growth in store network and about 5 percent expansion in same store sales, the company reported to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

Sales from foreign businesses went up by 8.1 percent, with China growing by 7.7 percent, the United States by 11.7 percent and Southeast Asia/Middle East by 5 percent. Excluding the impact of exchange rate changes, sales from overseas restaurants grew by 11 percent.

“Overall business in the Philippines remained strong, growing by almost 10 percent in system-wide sales in the first quarter despite a high base from last year,” Jollibee chief finance officer Ysmael Baysa said.

“The brands continue to bear the pressure of higher raw material prices with their impact on operating margins. We look forward to improving raw material price trends and higher growth rate of our store network in the months ahead,” Baysa added.

Jollibee ended March with 2,951 stores worldwide, of which 2,335 are in the Philippines. It opened 60 stores locally and 11 overseas in the first quarter alone.

Last May, Jollibee opened a Jollibee store at the Dubai Mall in the United Arab Emirates, posting one of the highest opening day sales of a store in the company’s history. This also re-established the brand in this Arabian state after 20 years.

Jollibee also has a 50 percent interest in joint venture for the following stores across the region: Highlands Coffee (77 stores in Vietnam and the Philippines); Pho24 (45 stores in Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, Macau and Korea) and 12 Sabu (20 stores in China).