Pancake House earnings unchanged

Pancake House Inc., the main restaurant chain of the Lorenzo family, reported an almost flat net income of P37.13 million during the first nine months of the year despite a 13.6-percent growth in revenues.

In a financial report filed with securities regulators, Pancake House said consolidated revenues reached P1.34 billion compared with P1.18 billion a year earlier. Of the total, P985.41 million came from restaurant sales or 12.8 percent higher than the previous year’s P873.83 million due to the revenue contribution of the recently-acquired unit Boulangerie Francaise Inc., which operates the Le Coeur de France brand, and newly-opened outlets.

Commissary sales and franchise revenues rose 16.61 percent and 7.06 percent, respectively.

Income from operations remained flat at P64.81 million from the previous year’s P64.73 million due to the slight rise in occupancy costs such as rent and utilities.

Cost of sales likewise went up 15.5 percent to P1.09 billion from P943.69 million while operating expenses slightly increased to P178.16 million.

The increase in revenues mitigated the escalating cost of sales and labor which remained lower as a percentage of revenues compared to last year by 0.4 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

Total revenues from the flagship Pancake House operations grew 11 percent to P798.84 million on new store openings. Teriyaki Boy, on the other hand, reported a 2.75 percent rise in revenues to P464.26 million while Singkit’s revenues dropped 6.04 percent due to lower franchise income.

Le Coeur de France, meanwhile, registered revenues of P70.71 million in the eight months ending September this year. — Zinnia Dela Peña