February 29 (SeeNews) - Romanian fast food chain Sphera Franchise Group [BSE:SFG] said on Thursday its normalised net profit surged by 80.3% year-on-year in 2023, reaching 79.8 million lei ($17.3 million/16.05 million euro).
The group's normalised operating profit rose 79.2% on the year to 104.6 million lei, Sphera said in a annual financial report submitted to the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
Sphera Franchise Group's total restaurant revenue grew by 11.1% in 2023 to 1.469 billion lei. Sales in Romania contributed 1.264 billion lei, while Italy and Moldova brought in 183 million lei and 20.6 million lei, respectively.
Restaurant expenses rose by 7.8% in annual terms, reaching 1.309 billion lei in 2023, with the most significant increase attributed to payroll and employee benefits.
The group's total assets inched down to 698.2 million lei in 2023, from 705.8 million lei in the previous year, while its total liabilities shrank to 558 million lei from 589.5 million lei.
The net profit figure was normalised to exclude various one-off expenses. These adjustments encompassed impairment charges related to the closure of thirteen Pizza Hut units amounting to 4.1 million lei, impairment charges for closing KFC restaurants in Romania totalling 0.9 million lei, closing costs for selected units within the reorganisation of the Pizza Hut network totalling 2.3 million lei, and litigation costs of 0.3 million lei.
Sphera Franchise Group operates more than 160 KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell restaurants in the Romanian, Italian, and Moldovan markets. The group has over 4,700 employees.
Blue-chip Sphera Franchise Group's shares traded 3.79% higher at 27.4 lei as at 1315 CET on Thursday on the Bucharest bourse.
(1 euro=4.9690 lei)