SINGAPORE (Feb 13): ST Group Food Industries Holdings, which runs a chain of F&B outlets, has reported revenue of A$29.1 million for the half-year ended Dec 31 2019 – an increase of 16.5% y-o-y.
However, because of one-off expenses from its IPO last July and higher finance costs, the company’s earnings dipped 1.5% y-o-y to A$1.9 million.
In the past year, the company expanded its number of outlets by 23 to 118. The company runs franchises of brands such as “PappaRich”, “NeNe Chicken”, “Gong Cha”, “Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart”, “IPPUDO” and “iDarts”. It has its own brands as well: “PAFU” and “KURIMU”.
“We successfully executed our strategy to strengthen our position in key markets such as Australia and New Zealand, while making inroads into relatively newer markets such as Malaysia and the UK,” says executive chairman and CEO Saw Tatt Ghee (picture).
“With an established franchise system and a portfolio of internationally popular brands, we will strive to maintain the growth of our recurring income streams,” he adds.
The company notes that the Covid-19 outbreak’s impact on its businesses “remains to be determined”. For now, it is adopting a “cautious stance” and be prudent on costs.
On Feb 13, ST Group shares closed unchanged at 22 cents. It went IPO at 26 cents.