UPDATE 1-India's Jubilant FoodWorks posts higher profit on Domino's pizza demand, store expansion
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May 20 (Reuters) - India's Jubilant FoodWorks JUBI.NS reported a 66.2% rise in fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by steady orders for Domino's pizzas and new store additions.
The operator of Domino's Pizza DPZ.O and Popeyes restaurants in India posted a profit of 797.9 million Indian rupees ($8.24 million) for the quarter ended March 31, up from 480 million rupees a year earlier.
Jubilant has been focusing on value offerings and faster deliveries to drive demand amid intense competition from quick-service restaurant (QSR) peers, including burger and fried chicken chains.
India's QSR chains have been grappling with cautious consumer spending and rising competition, prompting companies to roll out discounts, value meals and delivery offers to drive traffic and protect market share.
Jubilant said its delivery order volumes for Domino's India grew in the high teens, while average bill values moderated due to measures such as lowering the free delivery threshold to 99 rupees, targeted cashbacks, and zero packaging charges in select markets.
Consolidated revenue from operations rose 19.3% in the quarter to 24.99 billion rupees, driven by higher order volumes and store expansion.
Still, demand at Domino's India has remained uneven. Jubilant's fourth-quarter same-store sales growth disappointed analysts last month, with Morgan Stanley calling it a "big miss" and Goldman Sachs flagging margin pressure.
Jubilant added 69 stores during the quarter, taking the total count to 3,636.
Last week, peer Devyani International DEVY.NS, franchisee operator for KFC and Pizza Hut in India, reported a narrower quarterly loss as value meals, discounts and marketing campaigns helped drive traffic at its KFC outlets.
($1 = 96.8200 Indian rupees)
