Sfinks: gross profit on sales doubled in the first half of 2012

Thursday, September 20, 2012 - 13:09

Sfinks Polska Capital Group, which manages the Sphinx, WOOK and Chłopskie Jadło restaurant chains, achieved a consolidated income from sales of PLN 83.6 million compared to PLN 83.5 million in the previous year, whereas the sales dynamics of the Group in Poland grew by (+)1.7 per cent. At the same time the Group noted significant growth in gross profit on sales, which in the first half of 2012 reached PLN 7.3 million and doubled the result form the first half of the previous year, which was PLN 3.6 million.

Taking into account income in those restaurants chains other than Sphinx, whose turnover increased by 1.9 per cent in the first six months of this year, the positive trends in sales included the Chłopskie Jadło restaurants. For this brand, the first half of 2012 was a period of a shift in the negative turnover dynamics. In the first half of 2012 the Chłopskie Jadło chain noted a growth in sales by 2.4 per cent in comparison to the same period of 2011. After comparing the six monthly sales in the same restaurants, the growth was even greater at 8.1 per cent.

“We are pleased that the trend has reversed and that the situation of Chłopskie Jadło restaurants has improved. The introduction of the pro-sales programme in these restaurants is relatively recent, as our attention was focused mainly on our lead brand, Sphinx. This year, Chłopskie Jadło has undergone numerous changes – from the menu, through the restaurants’ décor, to the signboards and other graphic elements as well as to launching a website. These actions were completed around midyear, which means that the results will become visible in the second half of 2012, enhancing the positive trends that are already present,” said Sylwester Cacek, chairman of the Board of Directors of Sfinks Polska.

In the first half of 2012 Sfinks noted a net result of PLN (-)8.2 million compared with PLN (-)8.1 million in 2011. The net result from the first half of 2012 is also burdened with the marketing and rebranding costs of Chłopskie Jadło restaurants, which were higher than in the same period of 2011. The positive results of these actions will not be visible until the second half of 2012.

“Looking at the financial results of the chains separately, positive tendencies and systematically growing efficiency are clearly visible. During the first six months of this year, gross profit on sales grew by over 100 per cent. The state of our core sector, which is the restaurant business, is constantly improving. Unfortunately, our good results are burdened by liabilities to banks which were contracted many years before. For that reason, our purpose is to definitively solve the problem of liabilities and we hope to find a common ground for agreement with the banks. The more so since agreement is in the best interest of both parties,” said Sylwester Cacek.

Development plans for the Sfinks Polska chain for this year is to open the same number of restaurants as in the year 2011, which is 15. So far, 7 new Sfinks restaurants have been opened in 2012. At the moment, 3 new openings are being prepared, 1 of which is a Chłopskie Jadło restaurant.

All of the new restaurants operate as franchises and future openings will operate in the same manner. Sfinks has been systematically changing the management structure of the restaurants, and as a result, in the midyear it was managing 58 restaurants operating as franchises and 52 of its own restaurants, 40 of which are managed under an operator model.

Fri, 2012-08-31