Max’s Group 1st quarter profit rises by 8%

Fried chicken and pizza sales in the Philippines and overseas gave the Max’s Group a big earnings boost in the first quarter of 2016.

Max’s—the company behind Pancake House, Max’s Restaurant and Yellow Cab pizza, said net income from January to March this year hit P162.3 million, up 8 percent as revenue jumped 12 percent to P2.68 billion. Restaurant sales—from both new store openings and same stores, increased by 13 percent to P2.32 billion.

Commissary sales, however, dipped by 13 percent to P222 million, offset by revenue from franchise, royalty and continuing license fees.

“The numbers are in line with our estimates. We are now starting to realize the revenue impact of new stores that came onboard in the latter part of 2015. By recalibrating our design and build plan, we expect a leveled and systematic rollout of stores for the entire year,” Robert F. Trota, president and CEO of Max’s, said Friday in a statement.

In the first quarter, the Max’s Group opened nine stores across brands Pancake House, Yellow Cab Pizza and Krispy Kreme.

These include three international outlets—Max’s Restaurant in Qatar, Yellow Cab Pizza in United Arab Emirates and a Sizzlin’ Steak concept store in California. As of the end of March this year, the group had a chain of 577 stores including 37 overseas.

Outside the Philippines, it has sealed  five development agreements for 2016. These would involve 25 Yellow Cab Pizza stores in China, five Pancake House stores in Qatar,  five Yellow Cab Pizza stores in Singapore, five Yellow Cab Pizza stores in Jordan and 10 Yellow Cab Pizza stores in Egypt.

“This translates to a firm overseas pipeline of more than 130 outlets set to be operational in the coming years,” Max’s said.

“For 2016, we are positive that the prevailing macroeconomic backdrop will remain favorable spurred by continuous consumer spending. We are primed to open another 60 to 70 stores in key strategic locations,” Trota said.