Jollibee to meet revenue target despite difficult year

Friday, June 23, 2006

DESPITE a year made difficult by the increase in sales tax and the unabated hike in oil prices, Jollibee Foods Corp., the Philippines largest fast-food chain, is poised to meet its revenue target for the year.

“It might be a difficult year . . . but I think we can still be on target,” Tony Tan Caktiong, Jollibee Corp. chairman, told The Manila Times. He declined to say how much revenue the listed company is targeting for 2006.

Following the company’s acquisition of the franchise to operate the Chun Sui Tang Tea House in Shanghai, China, Caktiong said Jollibee will push through with its plan to expand abroad.

”There are three stores in Indonesia. We started with Chowking. We are really looking at that market. [Now], we are exploring how to enter India. Hopefully we’ll have something this year,” Caktiong said.

He added that the company has no plans to diversify and will just focus on the food industry.

He had announced that Jollibee may put up Greenwich and Chowking stores in India following initial research that Indians like “pizza and at the same time [that they like] Chinese food.”

Last year, Caktiong said its new stores helped the company increase its profits.

Its existing network and new stores boosted the company’s consolidated net income by 7 percent to P1.67 billion from the 2004 level. The company’s consolidated revenues grew by 10.6 percent to P29 billion due to a 12-percent rise in system-wide sales to P39.8 billion.

At the parent level, the company increased its net income to P1.36 billion in 2005 from P1.23 billion in 2004. Its revenues stood at P15.58 billion last year from P15.28 billion the year before.

Among the group’s subsidiaries, Yonghe King’s sales grew the fastest at 43.2 percent followed by Chowking at 13.1 percent; Jollibee at 8.1 percent; and Greenwich at 5.9 percent. The group’s newest addition, Red Ribbon Bakeshop, contributed 1.6 percent to system-wide sales.
--Cheryl M. Arcibal

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/june/23/yehey/business/20060623bus12.html