CJ Foodville said on the 3rd that operating profit on a consolidation basis last year came to 50.1 billion won, down 9.9% from a year earlier.
By contrast, sales for the same period rose 12% on-year to 1.0208 trillion won. It is the first time in seven years since 2018 that CJ Foodville's annual sales have surpassed 1 trillion won.
CJ Foodville said the results were due to aggressive investment expansion, including infrastructure investment in global markets such as preparations to operate a U.S. plant and increased local hiring, as well as higher raw material procurement expense in the domestic market.
Overseas subsidiaries of CJ Foodville, which has local corporations in the United States, Indonesia, and Vietnam, posted total sales of 278.2 billion won, up about 31% from a year earlier.
The U.S. subsidiary recorded 194.6 billion won, up about 42% on-year. Net profit has remained in the black for eight consecutive years since 2018.
CJ Foodville plans to build a local production system by starting operations at the U.S. plant completed at the end of last year and, based on this, accelerate store expansion to sustain its growth momentum.
In the Asian market as well, sales at the Indonesia (53.7 billion won) and Vietnam (29.8 billion won) subsidiaries increased 10% and 18%, respectively, from a year earlier. Countries entered under a master franchise (MF) model, including Mongolia, Singapore, and Malaysia, also showed growth.
Domestic dining business sales increased about 12% from a year earlier. "VIPS" led the improvement in domestic dining business performance by maximizing sales during the year-end peak season, and CJ Foodville said the casual dining restaurant (CDR) business successfully settled into the market, led by the Italian bistro brand "Oli Pepe."
A CJ Foodville official said, "Regarding the CDR business going forward, we plan to continue seeking operating measures that carefully reflect the market environment and customer needs," adding, "We will strengthen a dining culture that proposes special culinary value in everyday life by offering a differentiated premium dining experience across space, service, and menu, based on reasonable price points."