Yew Kee Duck Rice (formerly known as Yu Kee Duck Rice) is a famous Singaporean brand that started as a push-cart business in the 1950s. Since then, executive chairman Seah Boon Luck, who has taken over from his father, has grown an F&B empire under the name YKGI.
As at Dec 30, 2022, the company runs 44 food outlets under multiple brands, including XO Minced Meat Noodles, My Kampung Chicken Rice, PastaGo and Victoria Bakery. The company manages four food courts and holds the exclusive franchise for all 29 Chicha San Chen bubble tea outlets in Singapore.
On Dec 30, the company lodged its draft prospectus for a Catalist listing on the Singapore Exchange, joining the growing list of F&B companies. YKGI will be the first primary listing this year if all goes well, following the secondary listing of Comba Telecom Systems on Jan 4.
Funds raised from the IPO will go towards business expansion here and overseas. YKGI is eyeing more market segments and brands, beefing up its supply chain, and forming joint ventures.
RHT Capital is the issue manager and full sponsor, while Evolve Capital Advisory and KGI Securities are the joint placement agents of this IPO. YKGI’s IPO will comprise a sole placement tranche, and there will not be a public offer.
The company has lined up a list of cornerstone investors, such as David Teo Kee Bock, better known for founding the Super Group and heading his family office Apricot Capital. Another cornerstone investor is the Huan Yong Group, an investment holding vehicle of the Te family, whose patriarch, Ronald Te Kok Chiew, was a co-founder of Super Group together with Teo.
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Financial performance
For FY2019 ended December 2019, YKGI reported revenue of $31.6 million, which increased by 23.4% in FY2020 to $39 million. For FY2021, revenue grew by another 43.9% y-o-y to $56.1 million as the company set up more outlets. Earnings, meanwhile, were $1 million in FY2019. They surged to $4.9 million in FY2020 and $8.9 million in FY2021.
For the most recent 1HFY2022 ended June 30, revenue was down 3.1% y-o-y to $26.8 million. The company attributes the dip to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, which led to lower revenue from its outlets that are mainly located in the heartlands, as more people resumed commuting. In addition, government subsidies as part of the nationwide package of support measures for businesses and households hit by Covid-19 had tapered off.
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Earnings for the same period were down by 36.8% y-o-y to $2.4 million.
For now, YKGI does not have a dividend policy, although it plans to pay at least half its earnings from the current FY2023 and the coming FY2024 as dividends.
Photo: Albert Chua/ The Edge Singapore
