Max’s Group core profit exceeds prepandemic level

MANILA, Philippines  – Restaurant giant Max’s Group Inc. said core profits last year surged past the prepandemic level as health crisis-era indoor dining curbs were relaxed in 2022, pushing up groupwide sales by over 40 percent.

Max’s, whose establishments include Max’s Restaurant, Pancake House, Yellow Cab and Krispy Kreme, said core net income last year was up eight times to P622 million. The figure excluded a one-time gain from the sale of assets last year.

Based on core earnings, net income last year exceeded the prepandemic level by 63 percent.

“Despite the challenges that the organization has faced since the first lockdown in 2020, our business model has been tested and proven, with consistency of executed strategies as evidenced in our recovery,” Max’s CEO Robert F. Trota said in a statement.

The company ended 2022 with systemwide sales of P17.6 billion, up 41 percent, while total revenues surged 44 percent to nearly P11 billion.

Same store sales growth, which excludes contributions from newly opened branches, soared 43 percent.

Max’s also noted a 29 percent systemwide sales jump in the fourth quarter of 2022.

During this period, local sales increased by 33 percent due to increased “consumer confidence [and] mobility.”

Max’s international business also expanded by 15 percent despite “labor challenges in the North America market, with new agreements in place to further expand global reach in other markets.”

“Our business now stands on a stronger foundation. Our commitment to our shareholders was that we will be more than ready when the market is ready. The remastered fundamentals that started in 2020, coupled with our strategic pivots, are not only seen in our financial performance but on how the group has evolved,” Max’s president Ariel P. Fermin said in the same statement.

“We remain focused on serving our guests in our core restaurant business, and have built key partnerships with our customers in our adjacent [business to business] platform. We continue to be an attractive and reliable choice for our shareholders, business partners, and our employees,” he added.

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