BreadTalk Group's profits up 11.5% to $1.32m in Q1

Its restaurant division’s revenue rose 9.8% YoY to $40.5m.

BreadTalk Group started 2019 on a high note as profits jumped 11.5% YoY in Q1 to $1.32m from $1.18m in 2018, an announcement revealed. Revenue also rose 6.1% YoY from $148.53m to $157.61m for the quarter.

Its strong earnings performance was attributed to growth across all of the firm’s business divisions. Its bakery division revenue rose 2.3% YoY to $72m in Q1 with the consolidation of revenue from the Thailand Bakery business, following the acquisition of the 50% interest in BTM (Thailand) from Minor Food Group.

Also read: BreadTalk Group profits crashed 34.7% to $7m in Q3

“Excluding that, revenue would have been lower by 5.7% YoY, attributed to lower revenue from the direct operated stores in Beijing and the franchise business in China, partly offset by stronger revenue by the direct operated stores in Singapore,” BreadTalk highlighted, adding that the consolidation of the Thailand business added 47 BreadTalk outlets to its direct operated store count. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter was $14.4m compared to $3.8m FY2018.

Meanwhile, its food atrium division revenue grew 3.1% YoY to $38.6m. During Q1, the division opened one direct operated restaurant (DOR) in Shanghai under the “Sergeant Kitchen” brand.

The restaurant division’s revenue also rose 9.8% YoY to $40.5m for Q1 FY2019, thanks to the full quarter revenue contribution by BreadTalk’s first Din Tai Fung outlet in London, as well as the CentralPlaza Pinklao outlet in Bangkok, both of which were opened in December 2018.

During the quarter, the division also added two more outlets, one in Singapore in Great World City and the other at Terminal 21 in Thailand.

Following suit was its 4orth Division which delivered a revenue of $5.5m for Q1 FY2019 compared to$2.7m in 2018. The quarter saw the commencement of its Song Fa Bak Kut Teh operations in Beijing, China and Bangkok, Thailand with the opening of the outlets in Beijing APM Mall and CentralWorld, respectively.

The quarter also saw the disposal and de-recognition of BreadTalk’s entire interest in Carl Karcher Enterprises (Cayman), which had been loss-making, bringing down the losses from share of results of associates by 81.9% to $50,000 from $300,000 in Q1 FY2018.

The firm revealed that plans are underway to deliver the second Din Tai Fung restaurant in London, whilst it remains focused on new outlets pipeline in Singapore and Thailand. The opening of more Song Fa Bak Kut Teh outlets at the 4orth Division is also expected to gain further momentum into the rest of the year as the firm continues to expand across all the five territories of Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Thailand.

Earnings per share (EPS) on a fully diluted basis for Q1 FY2019 was $0.023 compared to $0.021 for Q1 FY2018.