Strong Q2 beefs up Jollibee’s 6-month profit

MANILA, Philippines — Asian food conglomerate Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) beefed up its first half earnings on the back of a stronger second quarter performance, driven by a combination of same store sales growth, new stores sales and changes in foreign currency.

JFC recorded P5.66 billion in net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company during the six-month period, 29 percent higher than last year’s P4.39 billion.

The group’s systemwide sales expanded by 11.3 percent to P182.63 billion, while revenues jumped by 11 percent to P128.52 billion.

For the second quarter alone, JFC posted a P3.04-billion profit, up by 30 percent from the same period in 2023 as sales grew by 12.1 percent to P95.8 billion.

Sales of digital channels, which include online sales and self-order kiosks, accounted for 21 percent of the Jollibee Group’s sales for the quarter.

“The Jollibee Group’s momentum this year continues with excellent second quarter performance. Our revenue grew by 10.6 percent led by the Philippine business which increased by 11.1 percent and international business which grew by 9.7 percent,” JFC CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong said.

Tanmantiong said the Philippine business’ Jollibee, Chowking and Mang Inasal brands outperformed their systemwide sales targets during the second quarter.

The Jollibee Group’s store network increased by five percent year-on-year as of end June with a total of 6,956 stores worldwide, 3,348 of which are in the Philippines and 3,608 are abroad.

Largest brands by store outlets worldwide include Jollibee with 1,697, CBTL 1,186, Highlands Coffee 789 and Chowking 618.

“Overall, our financial performance for the second quarter was even stronger than the first quarter across most metrics. Our top line growth translated to an all-time high operating income of P5.1 billion and a NIAT of P3 billion,” JFC chief financial and risk officer Richard Shin said.

For the second half, Shin said the group remains focused on capital allocation discipline and prioritizing opportunities with the greatest growth potential that will give the best value for JFC and its shareholders.

The group is maintaining global systemwide sales growth guidance of 10 to 14 percent and same store sales growth of five to seven percent this year.

Operating income growth guidance is being increased to 18 to 20 percent from 10 to 15 percent previously.

Capital expenditures budget, meanwhile, is being reduced to P16 billion-P18 billion from the previous guidance of P20 billion-P23 billion.

“I look forward to building on these positive results throughout the rest of the year.” Tanmantiong said.