SHAKEY’S PIZZA Asia Ventures, Inc. announced on Tuesday that it is allocating P1 billion for capital expenditures (capex) this year to expand its store network.
The company aims to construct approximately 335 stores within the year, with the majority being Potato Corner outlets, Shakey’s said in an e-mailed statement.
Previously, Shakey’s acquired the assets and intellectual property of Potato Corner, a food kiosk operator.
In 2022, the company obtained full ownership of PC International Pte. Ltd., a Singaporean corporation that owned and operated the Potato Corner franchise brand.
“We will continue to expand; in fact, we have already opened quite a few stores this year,” said Shakey’s President and Chief Executive Officer Vicente L. Gregorio during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting.
“But we also continue to fine-tune the business and unit economics to ensure we optimize profitability,” he added.
The company’s focus will be on further expanding its top brands, including Shakey’s Pizza, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken and Sauce Bar, and Potato Corner, throughout the country.
The company, Mr. Gregorio said, is targeting further expansions of its flagship pizza brand, starting with Northern Luzon and then moving on to the Visayas-Mindanao area.
“On the other hand, Potato Corner continues to aggressively open and expand stores. We view this as an opportunity to contribute to the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) sector.”
The company anticipates a 20% increase in both its top and bottom lines this year, driven by the reopening of the economy.
“We have already observed positive trends in the past two months, and we believe there is an opportunity for these trends to continue throughout the year,” Mr. Gregorio said.
“As of now, we are on track to achieve at least a 20% increase in both our top and bottom lines,” he added.
For the first quarter, the company reported a net income of P200.78 million, more than double the P76.23 million recorded during the same period last year, thanks to sustained dine-in foot traffic.
Revenues for the first quarter surged by 94% to reach P3.14 billion, compared to P1.61 billion in the same period last year.
System-wide sales also rose by 88% to P4.2 billion for the three-month period compared to the previous year.
By the end of March, the company had opened approximately 85 outlets, bringing the total number of stores in its portfolio to 1,506.
On Tuesday, Shakey’s shares increased by 1.04% to P8.75 apiece. — Adrian H. Halili