Fastfood chain operator Jollibee Foods Corp. said Tuesday its first-quarter net profit surged 26.9 percent to P2.6 billion from P2.06 billion in the same period last year on the back of the sustained growth in domestic and overseas businesses.
“The Jollibee Group had an exciting start to the year with a very good performance that exceeded our profit outlook for the first quarter. Our revenue growth of 11.3 percent translated to robust 13.7 percent and 26.9 percent growth in operating income and net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company, respectively,” Jollibee chief executive Ernesto Tanmantiong said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.
Jollibee chief finance officer Richard Shin said the first-quarter results were slightly ahead of the group’s projected growth rates for 2024.“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,” Shin said.
The company ended the first quarter with a network of 6,886 stores worldwide, of which 3,337 are in the Philippines and 3,549 are overseas.It budgeted P23 billion for capital expenditure for store expansion and renovation and plans to issue up to P8 billion worth of preferred shares to refinance debt and partially finance its store rollout.