Pancake House eyes expansion in Asia

Restaurant chain Pancake House Inc. is setting its sights on the international market as it hopes to tap five key countries in Asia as possible sites for its expansion.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Pancake House said it is in the process of registering the tradename Pancake House in Singapore, China, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand.

"The company is currently exploring the expansion of the current business to countries where Filipino communities are present," Pancake House said.

Pancake House said it has received queries from interested parties and that initial discussions have been made to enter into joint venture with them to establish the food chain in the said countries.

Pancake House is majority owned by Pancake House Holdings Inc., a 100 percent-owned company by the Lorenzo family.

It has just acquired Dencio’s Foods Specialists Inc., a unit of Dencio’s Foods Corp., which operates restaurants and offers franchises.

Pancake House plans to open 10 to 12 new stores this year in untapped territories like Cagayan de Oro, Bulacan, Pampanga, Baguio, Subic, Tagaytay, Laguna, Cebu and Davao. The company has set aside P60 million to P70 million for the establishment of new branches.

Last year, Pancake House opened one outlet in Makati and subsequently closed down the SM Cebu outlet due to poor sales. The company also signed six franchise agreements, but ended two as a continuing effort to purge non-profitable businesses. It ended the year with 47 operating outlets, of which 20 are company-owned and 27 franchised.

Pancake House posted a net income of P15.7 million in 2003, 39 percent higher than its restated income of P11.28 million in 2002. The company, however, said this was below the P17.7 million profit target, citing the weak economy and the delay in the opening of new outlets.

Total revenues likewise grew to P315.46 million from P292.66 million in 2002 due to additional sales from new stores.