Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, which operates the Domino's Pizza chain of restaurants in India, clocked a nearly 10 per cent surge in second-quarter profit on Tuesday, reported Reuters. The rise in profits was attributed to people going out more for dining after the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. In the quarter that ended on September 30, the company's profit rose to Rs 132 crore form Rs 120 crore a year ago.
The restaurant operator said, “Dine-in and takeaway channels combined witnessed strong year-on-year growth.”
According to the report, with people slowly returning to offices under hybrid work arrangements and venturing out more, restaurants in India have seen a pickup in business this year. While in the United States, Domino’s is a delivery-first business, in India, its second-biggest market, the dine-in business makes up a significant portion of its topline. Analysts have said that the company has more than 70 per cent of India’s pizza market.
As Jubilant launched new menu items, including biryani and fried chicken, the company’s revenue rose to Rs 1,301 crore from Rs 1,116 crore last year. It also opened 76 stores in the July-September quarter, entering 22 new cities.
Jubilant opened the country's first Domino's restaurant in 1996 in New Delhi. Now it aims to scale from the current 1,700 stores to 3,000 stores in the medium term. Earlier this year, Jubilant also opened India's first Popeyes restaurant, a US-based burger chain.
Analysts said that the rapid expansion and higher prices of ingredients, including cheese and vegetables, are weighing on the company’s margins. Jubilant reported that its core earnings margin came in at 24 per cent, versus 25.8 per cent last year.
The report said that Jubilant's competitor in the sector, Westlife Development will report its quarterly earnings on Wednesday. Analysts are expecting that the McDonald's franchisee will report a profit of Rs 24.66 crore compared to a loss a year earlier.