Restaurant chain operator Wowprime Corp (王品集團) saw profitability in the first half of this year expand by more than 20 percent from a year earlier, as continuous expansion helped the company generate higher sales and further boost net income.
The group reported a net profit of NT$603 million (US$20.13 million) in the first six months of this year, an increase of 23.79 percent from a year earlier, with earnings per share (EPS) standing at NT$8.07 during the period, the company said in a statement yesterday.
The continuous outlet expansion was the major factor behind the stronger profitability posted by Wowprime, which operates 14 restaurant chains with about 310 outlets in Taiwan and China.
On Saturday last week, Wowprime chairman Steve Day (戴勝益) said the group’s profitability rate in the first half of the year stood at 10 percent, in line with the level recorded last year.
VETERANS
Veteran brands, such as Wang Steak (王品), Tasty (西堤牛排) and Tokiya (陶板屋), further generated a profitability rate higher than 20 percent to compensate for weaker rates recorded by newer brands, Day said.
Wowprime saw consolidated revenue total NT$8.34 billion in the first seven months, up 20.5 percent from a year earlier, the company said in its stock exchange filing.
HISTORIC
Consolidated sales for last month marked the highest level in history at NT$1.3 billion, up 17.42 percent from a year earlier and 2.36 percent from a month earlier, on the back of strong seasonal demand during the summertime — a traditional peak period for restaurant operators driven by the summer vacation.
The same factor helped the other major restaurant operators listed in Taiwan report strong revenue results for last month as well.
STRONG RESULTS
Gourmet Master Co (美食達人), which operates the 85°C (85度C) bakery-and-coffee chain that has outlets in Taiwan, China, Australia and the US, reported NT$1.18 billion in consolidated revenue last month, up 14.45 percent from a year ago and 4.42 percent from a month ago, the company said in a statement yesterday.
It has been the third consecutive month the company saw year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue expand from a month earlier.
OUTLETS
The company attributed the improving sales to strong contributions by the existing Chinese outlets, as well as the newly launched outlet in the US.
Gourmet Master launched its fourth outlet in the US late last month, in Chino Hills, California, with sales performance as strong as the three existing outlets in the region, the statement said.
LAUNCH
The company is set to launch at least four new outlets in the US by the end of this year, which may raise the region’s revenue proportion.
The Tai Tong Food & Beverage Group (TTFB, 瓦城泰統集團), which operates three restaurant chains with about 50 outlets across the nation, posted NT$206.2 million in consolidated sales last month, up 12.57 percent from a year earlier, but down 1.8 percent from June, company statistics showed yesterday.
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