Jollibee eyes 450 new, mostly overseas stores as it sees rebound

[MANILA] Jollibee Foods Corp will boost capital spending by a fifth to open 450 new stores mostly overseas, as the Philippines' largest restaurant operator foresees a return to profit this year following its first annual loss in nearly three decades.

The company will spend 12.2 billion pesos (S$337 million) this year, up 22 per cent from the 10 billion pesos in 2020. Many store openings this year will be outside of the Philippines, mostly in North America, Vietnam and China, it said in a statement.

"We aim for very strong sales and profit recovery in 2021," Chief Executive Officer Ernesto Tanmantiong said. Jollibee's sales and profit growth starting this year will be driven by its international business, he said.

The company posted a net loss of 11.5 billion pesos in 2020, its first annual loss based on Bloomberg-compiled data going back to 1991. It had a net income of 2.05 billion pesos in the fourth quarter, down 34.5 per cent from a year earlier although a return to profit after three consecutive quarters of losses.

BLOOMBERG