May 17 (SeeNews) - Romanian fast food chain Sphera Franchise Group [BSE:SFG] reported a net profit of 7.3 million lei ($1.59 million/1.47 million euro) for the first three months of 2023, after booking a net loss of 10.9 million lei in the like period last year.
Sphera's operating profit (EBITDA) soared by an annual 526% in the first quarter of the year, to 23.5 million lei, the company said in a press release.
Consolidated sales came in at 335.1 million lei in the first quarter, up 20.3% on the year.
During the first three months of 2023, the group's domestic sales rose by an annual 19.7%, to 289.2 million lei. Sales in Italy grew by 22.1% on the year to 40.9 million lei. Also, the group booked sales of 4.9 million lei in Moldova during the first quarter, up by 42.7% year-on-year.
The weight of restaurant expenses in sales fell by 6 percentage points during January-March, to 91.8%.
Sphera Franchise Group operates over 175 KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants in the markets of Romania, Italy, and Moldova. The group is staffed by almost 5,000 employees.
Shares of Sphera Franchise Group traded 0.89% higher at 17 lei as of 1422 CET on Wednesday on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
(1 euro=4.95973 lei)