Pancake House beefing up capital

MANILA, Philippines - Listed restaurant chain Pancake House Inc. is beefing up its capitalization following the entry of new majority owner Max’s Group of Companies.

In a disclosure, Pancake House said its stockholders approved yesterday several resolutions that will jack up the company’s authorized capital stock.

In particular, the shareholders approved the “increase in the authorized capital stock of the company from P400 million to P1.4 billion to be funded by way of stock dividends.”

The stockholders also allowed management to declare a 100-percent stock dividend amounting to 259.21 million common shares at a par value of P1.

“We plan on infusing more resources to our brands to keep them relevant in an increasingly competitive landscape,” said Pancake House president and CEO Robert Trota.

“At the end of the day, our surest path to business success and consumer loyalty is a strong commitment to quality and service,” Trota said.

In the first quarter, Pancake House’s net income slipped nearly a quarter to P31.75 million from P41.56 million a year ago due to costlier operations and more expensive raw materials.

However, consolidated revenues rose 4.81 percent to P926.73 million from P884.19 million.

“In keeping with strategies from last year, the company continued to fortify its brands from aggressive competition,” Trota said.

Trota said the company expects major brands Pancake House and Yellow Cab “to continue to perform consistently, and we intend to nurture other brands in the portfolio so they can catch up.”

As of end-March this year, the firm had 310 co-owned and franchised stores: 114 Pancake House, 15 Dencio’s Bar and Grill, 37 Teriyaki Boy, 16 Sizzlin’ Pepper Steak, 14 Le Coeur de France, two Chicken Rice Shop, 109 Yellow Cab and three Maple.

Last December, Pancake House Holdings Inc. sold all its Pancake House shares to Max’s Group for P2.98 billion. Max’s Group then conducted a tender offer, allowing it to secure 89 percent of Pancake House.

The acquisition allowed Max’s Group to increase its brands to 14. Prior to the deal, Max’s Group carried Max’s Restaurants, Max’s Corner Bakery, Krispy Kreme and Jamba Juice.