Higher sales buoy Jollibee’s net income by 8.3% in Q4 2017

Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) reported an 8.3-percent increase in net income in the fourth quarter of 2017, owing to a double-digit increase in sales.

The company reported a net income of P1.821 billion in October to December from P1.681 billion a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing submitted by JFC Investor Relations director Corazon Palomar.

System-wide retail sales rose by 16.9 percent to P48.382 billion from P41.377 billion in the same comparable period.

“Sales of the Philippine business in the fourth quarter grew by 14.8 percent driven by the acceleration of store network expansion and continued strong same-store sales growth,” the filing read.

Sales from foreign businesses grew by 21.3 percent: Southeast Asia (excluding the Philippines) grew by 41 percent, China by 18.4 percent, North America by 20.6 percent, and the Middle East by 17.7 percent.

The fourth quarter earnings brought Jollibee’s full-year net income to P6.714 billion, up 10.9 percent from P6.054 billion in 2016.

JFC chief financial officer Ysmael Baysa noted the company expects further growth in consumer visits per store even though the Jollibee is implementing gradual price increases.

“The gradual price adjustments help to continuously drive volume growth of consumer visits per store despite rising inflation rate in the country,” he said.

“We expect to eventually recover our profit margins in 2018,” he said. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News