Berjaya Food plans up to 12 more Starbucks stores
KUALA LUMPUR: Berjaya Food Bhd has set aside as much as RM60 million to open up to 25 Starbucks outlets this year, said group chief executive officer Sydney Quays.
He said Berjaya Food had opened 13 outlets since the start of this year and plans are afoot for 10 to 12 more, including the first store in Perlis, by year end.
Quays, who is also Starbucks Malaysia and Brunei managing director, said the group had allocated RM10 million to refurbish some of its older outlets.
He said Berjaya Food would likely return to the black in the current financial year ending June 30, after bleeding red ink last year.
“The market was rather bad last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing travel restrictions.
“Many food and beverage businesses, including the brands that we have under Berjaya Food, do rely heavily on drive-thru and food delivery aggregators,” said Quays during an event at the Starbucks outlet in Tropicana Gardens Mall, Kota Damansara.
Berjaya Food’s core business includes Starbucks Malaysia, Kenny Rogers Rooster and vegan restaurant Sala.
For the first six months of its financial year, Berjaya Food’s net profit surged 70 per cent to RM21.49 million. However, revenue was down three per cent to RM354.82 million from RM364.56 million previously.
AmInvestment Bank Bhd said in a note last month Berjaya Food’s first half performance came above its expectations.
The research firm has raised Berjaya Food’s earnings forecasts for financial years 2021, 2022 and 2023 by 64, 38 and 35 per cent, respectively.