Restaurant chain operator TTFB Co Ltd (瓦城泰統集團) is “ready to expand” in the second half of this year, it said yesterday, as the COVID-19 outbreak that started in the middle of May subsides.
“TTFB is poised for action as food and beverage rebounds in the Taiwanese market,” chairman Charles Hsu (徐承義) told reporters after the company’s annual general meeting in Taipei.
Hsu said he is confident that TTFB will see a strong recovery the rest of the year after net losses of NT$19.69 million in the second quarter, compared with a NT$124.8 million net profit in the first quarter, following a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert issued on May 19, which banned indoor dining.
Photo courtesy of TTFB Co via CNA
“We are focusing on the new business of ‘cloud kitchens,’ expanding the volume of our operations to meet the delivery and ready meal pack market,” Hsu said. “As soon as the market stabilizes, we are also going to continue our expansion of in-person dining outlets in prime locations.”
TTFB started as Thai Town Cuisine (瓦城泰式料理), which Hsu cofounded in 1990. The chain has expanded with other brands over the years, including Very Thai Restaurant (非常泰), 1010 Hunan Cuisine (1010湘), Very Thai Noodles (大心新泰式麵食), Ten Ten Hunan Bistro (十食湘) and Shann Rice Bar (時時香), as well as new chains Yabi Kitchen and Thai BBQ.
The company went public in 2012 and now operates 133 restaurants nationwide, as well as what it calls “the largest cloud kitchen in Taiwan.”
“We are betting on the food and beverage market rapidly recovering amid government stimulus,” Hsu said, referring to the proposed quintuple stimulus voucher program that would offer a round of stimulus vouchers worth NT$5,000 to be spent within a time frame.
At yesterday’s meeting, shareholders approved the company’s proposal to distribute a cash dividend of NT$14.5 per share, based on last year’s record earnings per share of NT$15.91.
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