The nation’s major listed restaurant operators saw their consolidated sales grow by double digits last month from a year earlier on the back of strong seasonal demand during the Lunar New Year holiday and ongoing outlet expansion.
The Tai Tong Food & Beverage Group (TTFB, 瓦城泰統集團), the operator of three restaurant chains with 46 outlets in Taiwan, posted NT$223.1 million (US$7.51 million) in sales last month, marking the highest level in its history, the company said in a statement.
The results showed a rise of 50.12 percent from the previous year and 41.43 percent from the previous month, the statement said.
“Strong business during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday helped raise the company’s sales last month,” the firm’s statement said.
Compared with last year’s Lunar New Year holiday — which fell in January — the firm’s sales also showed a 20 percent growth this year, with total customer numbers standing at 180,000, mainly on the back of recovering economic sentiment.
For the first two months of the year, consolidated revenue was NT$380.84 million, up 8.01 percent from a year ago, the firm’s data showed.
Strong seasonal demand also helped drive Wowprime Corp’s (王品集團) business last month.
Wowprime — which owns 13 restaurant chains with about 280 outlets in Taiwan and China — saw its consolidated sales stand at NT$1.22 billion last month, up 23.05 percent from the previous year and 7.96 percent from January, a company filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange showed.
Consolidated revenue was NT$2.34 billion for the first two months of the year, up 13.94 percent from the previous year, stock exchange data showed.
Other than strong seasonal demand during the Lunar New Year holiday, ongoing store growth helped boost sales, following the firm introducing two new brands of teppanyaki and kaiseki cuisine in China last month.
Gourmet Master Co (美食達人), which operates the popular 85oC (85度C) bakery-and-coffee chain in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Australia and the US, reported NT$1.12 billion in consolidated revenue last month, up 10.18 percent from a year earlier, the company’s stock exchange filing showed.
However, on a monthly basis, sales dropped 7.44 percent last month, following the end of strong seasonal demand for gift boxes ahead of the Lunar New Year.
Gourmet Master posted NT$2.33 billion in consolidated sales for the first two months of the year, up 8.96 percent from a year earlier, the data showed.
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