Restaurant chain operator Jollibee Foods Corp. said Tuesday third-quarter net income rose 6.1 percent to P1.33 billion from P1.25 billion in the same period last year, led by strong same-store sales growth and expansion of store network.
Jollibee said in a disclosure to the stock exchange systemwide sales grew 12.4 percent in the third quarter to P36.32 billion from P32.3 billion in the third quarter of 2015.
It said on a worldwide basis, same-store sales grew 6 percent, while new stores contributed a growth of 6.4 percent.
Jollibee said in the first nine months of the year, net income jumped 13.8 percent to P4.38 billion, while systemwide sales increased 14.1 percent to P107.7 billion.
The fastfood chain opened 201 new stores in January to September, including 133 in the Philippines and 68 abroad.
“Sales of our businesses continued to be strong. We expect to end the year 2016 with the highest systemwide sales growth in five years and the highest organic growth in at least a decade driven by strong same-store sales growth and the highest store network expansion,” Jollibee chief executive Ernesto Tanmantiong said.
The Philippine business grew 14.1 percent in the third quarter, the US by 14.6 percent and Southeast Asia and the Middle East by 26.6 percent. China business declined 2.4 percent.
Operating income in the third quarter also declined 6.7 percent on higher expenses.
“Our plans for 2017 and the years ahead call for continued strong same-store sales growth and store network expansion in the Philippines and abroad with the aim of surpassing our historical performance. We have to invest heavily, however, in increasing our organization and supply chain capability in the Philippines and abroad as a means of achieving our goal,” Tanmantiong said.