Sphera Franchise Group, double-digit sales growth across brands and markets in Q1 2023
Sphera Franchise Group Q1 highlights:
Romania Insider
· Updated · 4 min read
Sphera Franchise Group Q1 highlights:
- Consolidated sales of RON 335.1 million, +20.3% vs. Q1 2022, due to double-digit growth across brands and markets
- Net profit of RON 7.3 million vs. net loss of RON 10.9 million in Q1 2022
- Three-digit increases YoY in both restaurant operating profit (+318%, to RON 27.4 million), and EBITDA (+526%, to RON 23.5 million)
- 6 pp decrease in share of restaurant expenses in total sales vs. Q1 2022
Sphera Franchise Group (“Sphera”), the largest group in the food service industry in Romania, registered in the first 3 months of 2023 consolidated sales of RON 335.1 million, a 20.3% increase compared to the similar period of 2022. The Group ended Q1 2023 with a net profit of RON 7.3 million vs. a net loss of RON 10.9 million in Q1 2022, while EBITDA increased by 526% YoY, to RON 23.5 million.
“The first quarter of the year is usually a slow period for the food service industry due to post-holiday season downturn. However, despite the business cyclicity and the more challenging economic context of high inflation, we started 2023 strong, continuing the growth trend of the past year. This performance is testament to the resilience and adaptability of our business, as well as the dedication of our hardworking team. We remain committed to maintaining the high quality and standards of our products and services and look forward to continuing our growth trajectory throughout the rest of 2023,” stated Călin Ionescu, CEO at Sphera Franchise Group.
Double-digit increases across brands and markets led to the first quarter’s performance in 2023 vs. Q1 2022. KFC continues to be the main contributor to all-restaurant revenues in Q1 2023, with RON 284.1 million in sales (+20.3% YoY), followed by Pizza Hut, with RON 31.2 million (+10% YoY) and Taco Bell, with RON 19.8 million (+40.6% YoY). KFC had a strong performance both in Romania and the Republic of Moldova, which together contributed a combined net profit of RON 12.1 million.
Analyzing performance per market, sales in Romania were up by 19.7% YoY, to RON 289.2 million, in Italy up by 22.1% YoY, to RON 40.9 million, while in the Republic of Moldova increased by 42.7%, to RON 4.9 million.
After a challenging 2022, restaurant expenses weight in sales decreased with 6 pp, reaching 91.8% in Q1 2023 vs 97.6% in Q1 2022. Moreover, the increase of 13.1% YoY in the restaurant expenses in Q1 2023 was lower than the increase in restaurant sales, of 20.3%.
