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LISTED
restaurant operator Pancake House Inc. (PHI) said Monday
it has acquired Boulangerie Francaise Inc. (BFI), the
exclusive Philippine franchisee of Le Coeur de France, a
popular pastry and bread shop.
In a
disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the
Lorenzo-led PHI said it purchased 260,000 shares of BFI
for P30 million or at P115.4 per share. The shares
represent 100 percent of BFI’s issued and outstanding
stock.
The
transaction expands PHI’s menu of restaurants, which
besides its flagship Pancake House, also manages
Dencio’s, Teriyaki Boy and Singkit. Earlier, it was
interested to buy Goldilocks Bakeshop but negotiations
with the owners did not move forward.
Upon the
completion of the acquisition, PHI will infuse capital
of P22 million in BFI, which will be used to settle a
portion of its outstanding payables.
Meanwhile, PHI’s wholly-owned unit, Pancake House
International Inc. (PHII), bought the trademark Le Coeur
de France and all of its related intellectual property
rights from the trademark owner Baratow Ltd. for P53
million. PHII is the vehicle for PHI’s international
franchising business.
At the
end of September 2007, PHI’s net profit amounted to
P36.98 million from P23.10 million during the same
period a year earlier.
From
January to September 2007, the combined Pancake House
and Dencio’s operations went up from P18.8 million in
2006 to P35.3 million this year. The improvement in net
income was due mainly to the opening of new outlets and
improved costs structures of the restaurants and the
commissary.
Teriyaki
Boy, for its part, contributed a net income of P9.6
million for 2007, almost twice the P5.6 million it
earned in 2006. Like its other sister restaurants,
Teriyaki Boy’s strong performance was brought about
mainly by the establishment of new outlets and the
improvements in cost structures resulting from the
implementation of relevant programs by management.
However,
Singkit reported a loss of P930,000, lower than the
previous year’s P1.4 million in losses brought about by
the opening of its first franchised outlet in
Ortigas Center.
Management is also focusing on increasing sales to
optimize the use of the store facilities and other
resources.
On a
consolidated basis, PHI’s revenues amounted to P1.18
billion at the end of September 2007. |
