In 2014, Wowprime Corp’s (王品) full-year revenue hit a record, thanks to a sales surge in China.
However, the 26-year-old restaurant chain operator last year saw its founder depart, its revenue fall from its peak and net income plunge by 95 percent, as it was under tough restructuring.
Wowprime — whose brands include the Wang Steak (王品台塑牛排) and Tasty (西堤) restaurants, Japanese eatery Tokiya (陶板屋) and hotpot restaurant chain 12 Sabu (石二鍋) — this week said that it had been through a difficult year last year and aims to focus on opening new brands this year to improve its profitability.
“Last year was the toughest year for our group, but the worst has passed,” Wowprime chairman Park Chen (陳正輝) said in a statement.
The nation’s largest restaurant chain operator on Monday reported net income declined to NT$34.78 million (US$1.07 million) last year from NT$703.32 million in 2014, as recovery in its Taiwan operations remained slow, while China operations were hurt by the slowing economy.
Earnings per share (EPS) fell to NT$0.45 last year, a record low for the company.
Despite a falling EPS, the company’s board is to distribute a cash dividend of NT$1 per share to shareholders, which translated into a yield of 0.72 percent based on Wowprime’s closing price of NT$139 in Taipei trading yesterday.
Wowprime was restructuring last year, following the unexpected early retirement of former chairman Steve Day (戴勝益) and the closure of its cafe chain Famonn Coffee (曼咖啡) in July last year.
Overall sales last year declined 0.48 percent annually to NT$16.78 billion, as 23 percent revenue growth in China to NT$6.53 billion was eroded by a sales decline of 11 percent year-on-year in Taiwan to NT$10.31 billion, company data showed.
The company said it has seen signs of stable recovery this year as it works to regain consumer confidence.
Outlets in Taiwan have seen revenue growth during the first two months this year, compared with the same period a year earlier, while six out of 10 brands in Taiwan became profitable as their rate of return exceeded 10 percent last month, it said.
Apart from enhancing its corporate image and upgrading its menus to attract customers, Wowprime started to cut the salaries of entry-level employees early this year, a move JPMorgan Securities Taiwan Ltd said could improve its cost structure.
The company also plans to focus on opening new brands instead of expanding more stores to improve its store-level profitability.
“On average, we aim to open two new brands every year, including our home-grown brands and international franchises we bring in,” Chen said.
Wowprime operated 280 stores in Taiwan and 133 in China as of the end of last month, data showed.
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