Restaurant chain operator Wowprime Corp (王品集團) yesterday said it plans to raise consolidated revenue by more than 20 percent this year on the back of its ongoing expansion and the improving momentum in consumption caused by the global economic recovery.
The company plans to expand its total number of outlets in Taiwan and China from 286 to 300 by the end of this year. At present, Wowprime operates 227 outlets in Taiwan and 59 in China.
“We will continue to expand the presence of our 13 brands [in Taiwan and China],” Wowprime chairman Steve Day (戴勝益) told reporters on the sidelines of a shareholders’ conference yesterday.
BRANCHING OUT
The company also plans to introduce more brands into the Chinese market in the near future.
Taking hotpot restaurant 12 Sabu (石二鍋) as an example, Wowprime hopes to eventually have 10 times as many outlets of the chain in China as it does in Taiwan.
Day also said that the company is scheduled to launch a new brand in Taiwan by the end of this year that will target the middle-priced market sector with an average meal price of about NT$300 per person.
The company also plans to launch restaurants in other Asian countries in the future, either through brand licensing or joint ventures, Day said.
For example, Wowprime teamed up with Thailand-based Kin Kab Tan Co Ltd to launch its first Tokiya (陶板屋) outlet in Bangkok in September 2011.
BRIGHT SIDE
As for the H7N9 avain influenza outbreak in China, Day said it could actually prove a blessing in disgues for Wowprime, because chicken is not a main ingredient in its restaurants.
“The situation may prompt more consumers to dine in our restaurants,” Day added.
Wowprime forecast that its consolidated sales would reach NT$15.2 billion (US$505.82 million) this year, up from the NT$12.31 billion it recorded last year, with NT$11.8 billion expected to come from its Taiwan ese outlets and NT$3.4 billion from its Chinese ventures.
Shareholders yesterday approved the company’s plan to provide a cash dividend of NT$13.67 and stock dividend of NT$1 per common share, based on last year’s net income of NT$1.05 billion, or NT$15.69 per share.
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