The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf a key performer in JFC’s ‘excellent’ second quarter

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf operates 1,186 outlets across 25 markets globally | Photo credit: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Filipino foodservice group Jollibee Food Corp (JFC) has highlighted The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL) as a standout performer in its second quarter after posting group sales of ₱67.2bn ($1.2bn). 
 

CBTL achieved 21% revenue growth in the three months ending 30 June 2024 to reach ₱5.2bn ($93.7m), with like-for-like sales increasing 25.6%. The coffee chain’s revenue for the first six months of 2024 stands at ₱9.9bn ($175m) – 14% higher than the same period last year. 

Additionally, CBTL’s gross profit during the second quarter grew 49% year-on-year to ₱1.1bn ($20.1m) while EBITDA increased 100% to ₱896m ($15.8m). 

JFC opened 39 net new CBTL stores during the second quarter, primarily in the Philippines and Kuwait where it operates 191 and 84 stores respectively. The coffee chain’s global presence now comprises 1,186 outlets across 25 markets in East Asia, the Americas, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. 

In a press release, Jollibee Group CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong said the company’s coffee and tea business ‘improved sequentially and year-on-year' in what was an ‘excellent second quarter performance’ for the group. 

JFC’s bubble tea chain Milksha achieved 7% like-for-like sales growth during the quarter, while Vietnamese coffee chain Highlands Coffee saw like-for-like sales fall 3% – an improvement on its 9% first quarter decline. 
 

In March 2024, JFC outlined plans to further scale its branded coffee chain businesses as part of plans to open 750 new stores across its quick-service brand portfolio in 2024.  

Later that month the Manila-based foodservice group acquired a 10% stake in US automated coffee and tea concept Botrista Inc. for $28m – a move JFC Chairman Tony Tan Caktiong said would ‘deliver a world-class customer experience and provide substantial runway for sustained profitable growth’. 

In August 2024, JFC completed a deal to take a 70% stake in fast-growing South Korean coffee chain Compose Coffee for $238m. The deal for the 2,500-store business is expected to add 2% to JFC’s 2024 revenues and 12% to its annual EBITDA this year, as well as increase its global store footprint by 34%. 

Founded in 1978, Manila-based JFC achieved 15% year-on-year revenue growth in 2023 to reach ₱244bn ($4.4bn). Alongside its eponymous Jollibee fast-food chain, the group also operates fast-casual brands Chowking, Mang Inasal, Greenwich Pizza, Smashburger, Hong Zhuang Yuan, Yonghe King, Red Ribbon, Tortazo, Tim Ho Wan and Yoshinoya.