Jollibee Foods to open up to 750 new stores in 2024

Homegrown fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) has earmarked up to P23 billion for capital expenditures (capex) in 2024, with the company planning to open as many as 750 owned and franchised stores this year.

In a regulatory filing, JFC said it expects capex to range between P20 billion and P23 billion, as it plans to introduce 700 to 750 stores after opening 658 in the past year, growing its store network by 6.3% to 6,885 at the end of 2023.

JFC operates the brands Jollibee, Highlands Coffee, mainly in Vietnam, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Milksha, Chowking, and Mang Inasal.

The company said it seeks to expand its Jollibee brand internationally, grow its coffee and tea business, post “exponential” growth in multiple lower-tier cities in China, and sustain its growth and market leadership in the Philippines.

“We will ramp up franchising to support our global expansion,” JFC chief executive officer Ernesto Tanmantiong said.

“Our strategies combined with a portfolio of strong and valuable brands and the support of our talented global team give me the confidence that we will be able to achieve our goal to triple our value (in terms of net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company) in five years,” he added.

In 2023, fourth-quarter net income grew by 5,621% to P1.761 billion, as revenues climbed by 8.4% to P66.697 billion. Systemwide sales grew 9.6% to P94.231 billion.

This brought the full-year 2023 net income up 22.4% to P8.985 billion, as revenues gained 15.2% to P244.107 billion and systemwide sales increased by 16.3% to P345.324 billion.

JFC said it projects systemwide sales growth for 2024 in the 10% to 14% range, with same-store sales growth of 5% to 7% and a store network increase of 7% to 8%. Operating profit is expected to be in the range of 10% to 15%.

“While we continue to open new stores this year, we remain focused on managing elements within our control, including driving top line through omni channels, effective cost management, and operational efficiency,” JFC chief finance officer Richard Shin said.

“This gives us confidence that we will continue to deliver revenue and profit growth, as well as margin and operating cash flow expansion in 2024,” he added. —VBL, GMA Integrated News