Rise in store visits boosts Jollibee Q1 income–exec

JOLLIBEE Foods Corp. (JFC) said its attributable income in the first quarter rose 27 percent to P2.61 billion from the previous year’s P2.06 billion, as its stores saw higher foot traffic.

Jollibee said its systemwide sales for the period rose 10 percent to P86.8 billion from P78.6 billion last year, while revenues grew 11 percent to P61.3 billion from the previous P55.09 billion.

The increase was driven by a combination of a 5.5 percent same-store sales hike mainly from volume growth and a 4.6-percent contribution from new stores, the company said.

“Jollibee Group had an exciting start to the year with a very good performance that exceeded our profit outlook for the first quarter. Our healthy top line growth combined with further operational efficiencies and effective management of expenses drove expansion of the Jollibee Group’s profit margins,” Jollibee CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong said.

Systemwide sales of the Philippine business increased by 7 percent, while the international business grew by 3 percent led by Middle East, Milksha at 8.7 percent, North America at 12 percent and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at 2 percent.

Smashburger declined by 4 percent but showed month-onmonth improvement in average daily sales. Its China business also declined by 3 percent compared to last year.

Same-store growth sales of JFC’S China business in the first quarter of 2023 grew by double digits due to the temporary recovery in consumption, particularly in February and March after the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions.

Highlands Coffee, meanwhile, declined by 9 percent but was better than industry and gained a 4-percent market share, the company said.

“We are slightly ahead of our guided growth rates. Our business fundamentals are strong, and we are poised to continue our growth trajectory, leveraging the strength of our brands and strategic investments to support our long-term growth plans,” Jollibee’s CFO Richard Shin said.

Last March, Jollibee reported that its attributable net income in 2023 grew 16 percent to P8.98 billion from the previous year’s P7.33 billion.

Systemwide sales, a measure of all sales to consumers, both from company-owned and franchised stores but is not part of the financial statement, also expanded by 16 percent to P345.32 billion from the previous year’s P296.82 billion.