Strong sales lift Jollibee H1 earnings by 29%

Strong sales growth in both its domestic and international operations boosted the six-month earnings of fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. by 28.9 percent to P5.66 billion, encouraging the company to upgrade its operating income target for the year.

In a stock exchange filing on Wednesday, the homegrown firm led by tycoon Tony Tan Caktiong said revenues also jumped by 10.9 percent to P128.52 billion.

In the second quarter alone, Jollibee revenues rose by 10.6 percent to P67.22 billion.

This was driven by an 11.1-percent improvement in the Philippine market and 9.7 percent in the international business.

Systemwide sales in the April to June period expanded by 12.1 percent to P95.8 billion, as the flagship Jollibee brand, Chowking and Mang Inasal all exceeded targets, according to Jollibee CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong.

Local sales grew by 9.1 percent due to strong demand from end-of-school-year activities and “special occasions,” while the international segment grew by 4.7 percent, led by Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia.

The China market, however, was hit by weak consumer spending as sales fell by 13.4 percent. Jollibee currently has 567 stores in China.

As of end-June, the group’s store network increased by 5.1 percent to 6,956 stores across the globe.

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Jollibee, known for the popular Chickenjoy meals, still had the most number of stores with 1,697, followed by The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf with 1,186.

These results encouraged the group to upgrade its full-year operating income growth target to the range of 18 percent to 20 percent from the previous 10 percent to 15 percent. Jollibee maintained its targets for other segments.

The company earlier dropped its planned P8-billion preferred share issuance on the strong performance of its domestic market.