Jollibee reports 1.5% profit rise
JOLLIBEE Foods Corp. (JFC) recorded a 1.5% uptick in its audited 2019 bottomline to hit P6.43 billion, reversing the 14.4% drop it first reported in February.
In a statement Wednesday, the global fast food chain operator said the changes in its earnings report now reflect the effects of implementing the Philippine Financial Reporting Standard (PFRS) 16 accounting standard.
“The improvement resulted mainly from the finalization of adjustments related to the adoption of PFRS 16, which were completed during the year-end audit process,” it said.
PFRS 16 is an accounting standard required of Philippine companies starting January 2019, which requires the recognition of lease activities in their balance sheets.
The classification of lease under interest expense adjusted JFC’s audited net operating income to increase by P626.8 million or 10.7% to P6.5 billion. Interest expense grew by P518.9 million, and was partly offset by a P402.8 billion increase in other income.
The company’s revenues and sales remained intact. As reported in February, JFC’s revenues in 2019 increased 11.5% to P179.63 billion, while system-wide sales grew 14.9% to P243.79 billion.
Earlier this month, JFC announced its capital expenditures for the year has been cut 64% to P5 billion due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Operating costs are also expected to be “significantly” reduced as an effect.
JFC has 5,981 stores as of end-February, composed of 3,317 stores in the Philippines and 2,664 stores abroad. Those located overseas are in China, Vietnam, Brunei, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Malaysia, Indonesia, United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Italy, United Kingdom and Guam.
JFC operates fast food and restaurant chains such as Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal, Burger King, PHO24, Yonghe King, Hong Zhuang Yuan, Dunkin’ Donuts, Highlands Coffee, Hard Rock Cafe, Smashburger and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.
The company’s shares at the stock exchange increased P2.10 or 1.43% to P148.60 each on Wednesday. — Denise A. Valdez
