Japan Foods says revenue not yet back to pre-Covid-19 levels

JAPANESE food and beverage (F&B) brand operator Japan Foods will intensify efforts to control costs and improve operational efficiency as it expects the operating environment of the F&B industry to remain challenging in the next 12 months.

Despite some improvement since Singapore moved into Phase Two of its gradual reopening on June 19, revenue has yet to recover to pre-Covid-19 levels, the company said in a business update filed with the Singapore Exchange on Friday.

This is due to lower footfall in shopping malls, especially in the Central Business District, as a result of social distancing, travel restrictions, work-from-home arrangements and the onset of the economic downturn.

However, the group said it believes its operational track record and healthy balance sheet will tide it through this period.

Japan Foods operates 58 restaurants, including Ajisen Ramen, Menya Musashi and Fruit Paradise. Since March 31, it has set up one new restaurant, closed another, and closed a third to reopen it under a different brand within its portfolio. These were all in Singapore.

The two restaurant closures are not expected to have any material impact on the group's financial results for the financial year ending March 31, 2021.

Shares of Japan Foods were last traded on Monday, closing 2.5 Singapore cents or 7.58 per cent higher to S$0.355.