Simbisa Brands to open 73 outlets over 9 months
Resturants operator, Simbisa Brands says it is working on opening 73 new stores in Zimbabwe and the region over the nine months to June 2022 as it continues to grow its footprint to create value for stakeholders.
This was revealed by the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) listed group’s chief executive officer (CEO), Basil Dionisio in a trading update released this week.
The group, which operates restaurants that own leading brands like Chicken Inn, Fish Inn, Bakers Inn, Nando’s, Roco Mamas and Spur, opened three new counters and invested in one mobile truck in the country to close the period with 238 counters in operation.
Simbisa’s Zimbabwe operations first quarter inflation adjusted revenue rose 57 percent year on year helped by a 29 percent rise in customer counts against prior year period as Covid-19 related trading restrictions were relaxed.
Figures from the group’s trading update show that despite some respite in the restrictions, counter trading hours in Zimbabwe were still 52 percent below capacity due to sustained nationwide curfews that were in place and seating capacity was restricted to 50 percent.
“The impact was most significant on Simbisa Zimbabwe’s casual dining brands,” Mr Dionisio said.
While consumer spending power remains under pressure in the market, Simbisa achieved real growth in average spend in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the prior year comparable period. US dollar average spend increased 11 percent versus prior year.
“In addition to the new store openings, significant capital investment is being made in upgrading the Zimbabwe Operations’ Central Kitchen and Central Stores to increase storage capacity and further automate the production process.”
Zimbabwe’s operating profit margins increased from 10 percent in the first quarter of financial year 2021, 15 percent in the 2022 opeing quarter while the regional businesses’ operating profit margins grew to 14 percent in first quarter of financial year 2022 from 9 percent in the opening quarter of financial year 2021.
“The group continued to implement cost containment measures in order to grow operating margins,” he said.
The strategic focus in financial year 2022 will be to grow the delivery business in the rest of the region and in Zimbabwe, where deliveries contributed just 2 percent in the first quarter of 2022 and therefore an opportunity for significant growth has been identified, he added.
Group inflation adjusted revenue rose 74 percent.
Customer counts in the regional business increased 37 percent in the first quarter of financial year 2022 compared to the same period last year.
On the back of increased customer counts, revenue from the regional operations increased by107 percent on a year-on-year basis, with US dollar average spend remaining flat (+1 percent) on the prior year period. Group operating profit margins improved from 10 percent in the first quarter of the trading period of 2021 to 15 percent in the first quarter of 2022 backed by increased turnovers against a carefully managed cost-base.-The Herald
