US investment firm buys stake in Jollibee

Oppenheimer Funds, an international investment advisory firm based in the US, has acquired a 5.07-percent stake in fastfood giant Jollibee Foods Corp., according to a beneficial ownership report filed with securities regulators.

Oppenheimer, which provides investment advice to various mutual funds and other accounts, said it now holds 49.3-million common shares of Jollibee on behalf of its various clients.

In the same report, Oppenheimer said neither the company nor its clients intends to exercise control over Jollibee.

Jollibee reported a 25-percent growth in its 2004 net income to P1.57 billion,driven by higher consumer spending due to an improving economy.

Revenues rose 21.3 percent to P26.3 billion while total systemwide sales, a measure of all sales to consumers both from company-owned and franchised stores, increased 23 percent to P35.54 billion.

Growth in sales was broad based, with the Jollibee brand registering a 13.7 percent increase, Chowking 39.4 percent, Greenwich 14.7 percent, Delifrance 11.4 percent and Yonghe King in the People’s Republic of China 36.8 percent.

Jollibee chairman and chief executive officer Tony Tan Caktiong said the group opened a total of 158 stores worldwide in 2004, the most number of stores opened in a single year over its 26 year history. Of the total stores opened, the Jollibee brand accounted for 37, Chowking 59, Greenwich 32, and Delifrance 5.

Overseas, the Jollibee group opened 25 stores mostly in China, led by Yonghe King with 17 stores.

Tan Caktiong said while there would be challenges ahead, the group is confident that they could duplicate or even surpass achievements made last year.

Jollibee chief finance officer Ysmael V. Baysa said the adoption of the new accounting standards decreased the company’s retained earnings by P600 million or 11.3 percent while 2004 profit was lowered by P90 million before tax.

However, Baysa noted that these adjustments which are required by the new accounting standards do not have real economic impact on the business.

The company’s return on equity imrpoved from 17.4 percent in 2003 to 19.4 percent last year. Cash increased slightly to P2.9 billion even after investing P1.5 billion in capital expenditures mostly in new stores and P650 million for the acquisition of 85 percent share of Yonghe King business in China, and paying P408 million in cash dividends.

The Jollibee group operates the Philippines’ largest fastfood network. As of Dec. 31, 2004, it had a total 1,065 stores in the country: Jollibee 499, Chowking 303, Greenwich 232, and Delifrance 31. It also operates 120 stores abroad, mostly Yonghe King in China with 88 stores, for a total of 1,185 stores in nine countries worldwide.