Shares for Gourmet Master Co Ltd (美食達人), best known for its coffee shop and bakery chain 85°C (85度C), rose 3.57 percent yesterday as the company reported steady growth in sales for last month. Consolidated sales rose 6.64 sequentially and 7 percent year-on-year to NT$1.87 billion (US$56.9 million) last month, with aggregate sales in the first eight months rising 13 percent annually to NT$13.1 billion, setting a new record for the company, Gourmet said in a statement.
The company’s Taiwan operation, which had gone through extensive reformatting and renovations, is expected to turn profitable in the second half of the year, Gourmet said.
As of the end of last month, 70 of the company’s locations have been renovated, it said.
Gourmet said the windfall from mooncake sales last month is set to boost this quarter’s business, adding that popular messaging app Line has listed 85°C among the 12 beverage and restaurant brands to take part in its digital gift certificate offering.
As for the company’s China operation, Gourmet’s fully automated central kitchen in Kunshan is expected to commence mass production in the fourth quarter and supply frozen doughs to its Chinese stores, Capital Investment Management Co (群益投顧) said in a note last week.
The brokerage said Gourmet might repurpose its 11 other central kitchens across China for storage and distribution roles in the future.
Separately, Wowprime Corp (王品集團), the nation’s largest restaurant chain operator, with 13 brands and 430 restaurants in Taiwan and China, yesterday reported its sales increased 14.69 percent to NT$1.64 billion last month from July.
The company said that sales for its Taiwan and China operations rose 13.47 percent and 16.59 percent monthly to NT$1.01 billion and NT$630 million respectively.
Overall, its aggregate sales during the first eight months slid 0.52 percent annually to NT$11.64 billion, Wowprime said.
Gourmet Master shares gained NT$6 to NT$174 in Taipei trading yesterday, while those of Wowprime rose 1.94 percent to NT$182.5.
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