Jollibee Foods Corp., one of the largest of Asian food service companies, on Monday reported a 14 percent growth in third-quarter net income to P2.43 billion on strong growth in both domestic and international businesses despite a volatile and challenging economic environment.
Third-quarter system wide sales was up 12 percent to P86.96 billion while revenue rose 11 percent to P61.53 billion on the back of double-digit growth of sales in the Philippines. International business saw a 5.4 percent growth in system wide sales and 2.6 percent increase in same store sales.
“We delivered another strong performance in the third quarter with a record-high operating profit of P4.3 billion, increasing by 43 percent year-on-year from a revenue growth of 11 percent. This is JFC’s third consecutive quarter of record-high operating income,” said Jollibee’s chief executive officer Ernesto Tanmantiong in a statement.
Tanmantiong said Jollibee still expects positive growth in the fourth quarter. Even so, he said the company will just maintain 10 percent to 15 percent growth guidance for revenue, 7 percent to 10 percent for same store sales, 20 percent to 25 percent for operating income, and 5 perent for store network “as we recognize the ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility.”
At the end of September 2023, JFC’s store network increased by 5.8 percent to 6,720 stores, 3,295 of these in the Philippines. Its largest brands by store outlets worldwide are Jollibee with 1,624, CBTL 1,132, Highlands Coffee 725, Chowking 612, and Mang Inasal 569.
Jollibee chief finance officer Richard Shin said the listed food company’s strong results for the quarter demonstrated continued financial resilience highlighted by the record-high quarterly system-wide sales and operating income.
“While the external environment has not improved, we remain confident in our ability to deliver sustainable growth as we continue to focus on what we can control, invest in line with long-term strategy, prudently manage our expenses, and drive efficiencies in our organization,” he said.
