Restaurant franchise corporations The Born Korea said on the 13th that it swung to a loss last year, posting an operating loss of 23.7 billion won on a consolidation basis.
Sales last year were 361.2 billion won, down 22.2% from a year earlier. The slump in the dining-out market and a string of controversies surrounding the company that hurt its brand image are seen as factors. Last year's net loss was 13.4 billion won.
The Born Korea said the results reflected the injection of 43.5 billion won in mutual growth support funds to revitalize stores last year.
The Born Korea posted an operating loss of 22.5 billion won in the second quarter of last year, when the rollout of mutual growth support funds began in earnest. However, operating losses are narrowing. They shrank from 4.4 billion won in the third quarter to 3.0 billion won in the fourth quarter last year.
A The Born Korea official said, "Although we executed large-scale mutual growth support funds as numerous headwinds continued last year, we view the operating loss as within our internal expectations," adding, "With results showing signs of recovery, we expect a normal performance structure this year."
The Born Korea plans to accelerate efforts to secure new growth engines by expanding its entry into overseas markets, including the Americas, Southeast Asia and Europe, this year to diversify its business portfolio.