Fruitas Holdings Inc., the operator of various food and beverage kiosks, on Thursday said it has allocated P240 million to P270 million for capital expenditures this year, a chunk of which will be used for its expansion and the acquisition of another firm.
The company said it will add at least 100 kiosks and 70 community stores to its network this year.
This will boost Fruitas’ network to about 1,100 kiosks and 100 community stores by the end of 2021. The increase in kiosks will come from both additional locations for its existing brands and new kiosks for its emerging concepts.
Fruitas said it will expand community stores beyond Metro Manila to include key cities in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Fruitas expects to launch at least two new concepts as early as the first quarter of the year.
“We had a temporary setback in terms of operating results in 2020, but we were able to successfully execute numerous initiatives to broaden product breadth and client reach. There are still abundant opportunities to generate growth and improve margins. Our stronger footing post-pandemic makes us confident about 2021,” Lester Yu, the company’s president and CEO, said.
For the year, the company said it is earmarking some P150 million for network expansion, P70 million to P100 million for acquisitions and development of new concepts and P20 million for commissary expansion.
Fruitas is in discussions with potential product partners to include additional items to sell through its network and distribution partners to widen the sales channels of Fruitas products.
“The enhancement of its delivery channel continues, with plans to expand delivery beyond Metro Manila and Cebu in the near-term. Certain community stores will formally be designated as delivery hubs to shorten turnaround time,” the company said.
Fruitas is also reviewing opportunities to acquire potential targets and expand abroad, initially within Asia, but intends to pursue these in a disciplined manner, it said.
The company said its revenues in the fourth quarter last year increased by around 60 percent compared to the third quarter. It did not give figures.
For the third quarter of 2020 alone, the company’s revenues reached P166.56 million, down 63 percent from last year. For the three quarters of the year, the company’s revenues reached P628.61 million or just half of the previous year’s P1.39 billion as the pandemic took its toll on its operations.
For the period, it had a loss of P32.22 million, down from the previous year’s income of P53 million.