Jollibee Foods – controlled by billionaire Tony Tan Kaktiong – will spend 12.2 billion pesos ($251 million) this year, its biggest annual CAPEX. This is because the restaurant chain wants to accelerate its expansion at home and abroad while continuing to recover profits.
Jollibee, the Philippines’ largest fast-food chain by sales, returned to the black market in the fourth quarter after posting losses in the first nine months of the year as the Covid-19 pandemic ravaged the global economy. The recovery has continued this year, with Jollibee reporting a net profit of Peso 153 million in the first quarter.
“Despite the challenging market environment as a result of the global pandemic, the Jollibee Group has grown stronger,” said Ernesto Tanmanting, President and CEO of Jollibee, at the company’s annual general meeting on Friday.
Jollibee continues to grow globally in 2020 despite the pandemic. The company said it had opened 81 new stores in the Philippines and 257 overseas over the past year. “The global crisis has highlighted the benefits of geographically diversifying our business,” said Tanmantiong. “We continue to invest in long-term growth in the face of the pandemic in emerging countries.”
Anticipating continued growth, Jollibee plans to open 450 new stores this year and an additional 500 stores in the Philippines and overseas next year.
Jollibee was founded by Tan Caktiong more than 40 years ago and currently operates more than 3,200 stores in the Philippines and more than 2,500 overseas – including US-based Smashburger and Coffee Bean. Tan Kaktiong, 68, was listed as the 7th most prosperous country in the Philippines on the April world billionaires list. With a net worth of $2.7 billion, he also has a stake in DoubeDragon Properties.
Coffee Bean, which acquired Jollibee in 2019, posted a remarkable increase in profit and contributed to sales from operating profit. Group in the first quarter, said Jolibi. To accelerate its growth, Coffee Bean will expand its operations in Asia, particularly Singapore and Malaysia, the statement said.