Max’s Group Inc., the country’s largest casual dining restaurant operator, said its income for the first quarter fell 87 percent to P41.5 million from the previous year’s P335.59 million, despite higher margins and revenues.
The operator of Max’s Restaurant and Pancake House said revenues, which comprise of restaurant sales, commissary sales, franchising and other revenue, rose 18 percent to P2.16 billion from last year’s P1.84 billion.
First quarter gross profit margin was at 31 percent, an improvement from last year’s 26 percent, while operating income margin was at 6 percent, higher versus the 2021 core margin of 2 percent despite relatively tempered sales and revenues for the quarter.
“Our results for first quarter, even more markedly so in March, are an indication of strong demand for our brands and patronage of our core of core, which are available both in traditional brick-and-mortar spaces, and expanded to business-to-business and off-premise platforms,” Max’s CEO Robert Ramon F. Trota said.
The company said its systemwide sales, comprised of sales generated by both company-owned and franchised stores, reached P3.55 billion, more than double from the previous year.
Sales and revenues are steadily recovering which are at 77 percent and 65 percent versus 2019, respectively, despite having fewer stores and strict lockdown measures in January, the company said.
The international business reported a 32-percent systemwide sales growth for the period.
“(The) said business segment has been recovering faster versus the local market, favorably affected by faster vaccination rollout causing less stringent lockdown measures,” it said.
Local sales were still tempered as a result of the strict lockdown in January due to the Omicron surge.
March sales grew 14 percent month-on-month as restrictions on dine-in were loosened further. The group’s core brands Max’s Restaurant, Pancake House, Yellow Cab Pizza Co. and Krispy Kreme all realized upsides with the relaxed restrictions, and are expected to further realize gains as dine-in continues to surge amidst heightened mobility.
Same store sales growth for the period reached 23 percent and is expected to further recover the rest of the year, it said.
Given the ongoing relaxation of government restrictions, dine-in which contributes healthier margins vis-à-vis other consumption channels, contributed to the group’s recovery, while reaping the benefits of its strengthened off-premise channels that continue to protect and provide upsides in its topline.
“As planned, our dine-in brands Max’s and Pancake House, which have been managed for profitability during the pandemic, realized significant growth towards the back-end of the quarter. We are expecting that as the market continues to open up, the recovery of these brands will be even more vibrant, giving our margins a boost,” Trota said.
As of March, the company’s store network totaled 14 territories, with 603 Philippine sites and 62 stores situated across various locations in North America, the Middle East and Asia.