Jubilant FoodWorks's profit nearly triples in the September quarter

Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, which operates Domino’s and other quick-service restaurant (QSR) chains in India and overseas, reported a nearly threefold year-on-year rise in profit in the September quarter, driven by strong operating performance and lower interest costs.

Its consolidated net profit jumped 192.5% year-on-year to ₹194.6 crore on a revenue of ₹2,340.2 crore, up 19.7% on-year. Its standalone (India) revenue stood at ₹1,698.7 crore, up 15.8% on-year.

Its consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) rose 18.5% on-year with a margin of 13.9%. For the India business, Ebitda rose 15.9% with a margin of 19.4%.

The company said gross margins expanded sequentially across its portfolio, supported by higher store productivity, operating leverage, and cost efficiencies.

Domino’s India, the company’s flagship brand, reported a 15.5% rise in revenue, supported by order growth of 14.8% and like-for-like sales growth of 9.1%. The delivery channel remained the key growth engine, with revenue rising 21.6% on-year.

The company is stepping up efforts to revive in-store sales, as the dine-in channel revenue remained flat.

“Work on dining or in-store is very much underway, like, for example, the ₹99 value offerings that we launched for dine-in between 11am and 3pm are giving us joy. We have expanded that to delivery at about ₹150 during lunch hours. Long story short, there are several initiatives which are in the works to increase on-premise sales," said Sameer Khetarpal, chief executive and managing director, during Jubilant's post-earnings call on Thursday.

Jubilant FoodWorks added 88 new stores during the quarter, taking its India network to 2,450 outlets. Of these, 81 were Domino’s stores, which expanded into 16 new cities, extending the brand’s footprint to 500 cities, while four new Popeyes outlets were opened in Mumbai.

Jubilant FoodWorks operates Domino’s, Popeyes, and Dunkin’ Donuts in India. It also owns and operates Hong’s Kitchen and Ekdum!—its own homegrown restaurant brands. It also operates restaurants in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

At the group level, it has a total network of 3,480 stores, including 3,179 Domino’s outlets in India and overseas.

Across its international markets, including Turkey, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, the company reported on-year growth in revenue during the quarter.

Fast food chains have had a mixed quarter. For instance, Westlife Foodworld, which operates McDonald’s restaurants in South and West India, reported a “soft” performance in the September quarter, with weak consumption trends and limited signs of recovery.

Revenue grew 3.9% on-year to ₹642 crore, driven by continued network expansion, according to a ICICI Securities report dated 4 November.

The promoters of HT Media Ltd, which publishes Mint, and Jubilant Foodworks are closely related. There are, however, no promoter cross-holdings.