Jollibee Foods Corporation (MC, also known as Jollibee Group), one of the largest Asian food service companies, is confident of hitting its financial targets this year as a surge in advertising expenses boosted revenues in the first quarter of 2025.

“The substantial increase in advertising and promotions drove a 14.6 percent rise in revenues,” said Jollibee Group Chief Financial and Risk Officer Richard Shin in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

He added that, “Our strong first quarter revenues combined with our disciplined and prudent approach led to double-digit growth in operating income and a notable improvement in margins. These results highlight the effectiveness of our strategic initiatives and the resilience of our core business.”

Revenues rose 14.6 percent to ₱70.23 billion while operating income grew by 17.6 percent to ₱4.8 billion despite a 56.2 percent increase in advertising and promotions.

However, attributable net income declined by 8.1 percent to ₱2.41 billion in the first quarter of 2025, from ₱2.62 billion in the same period last year, driven by higher below-the-line items.

“On a quarter-on-quarter basis both operating income and attributable net income increased by double digits. While attributable net income was slightly lower year-over-year, this was primarily due to non-operational factors.

“Looking ahead, the Jollibee Group expects continued strong operational performance, and we remain proactive in managing macroeconomic and financial headwinds. We are confident in our strategy and execution, and, accordingly, we are reaffirming our full year guidance,” Shin said.

Jollibee expects to deliver an eight percent to 12 percent growth in system wide sales in 2025, with four percent to six percent growth in same store sales and store network growth of four percent to eight percent. Operating profit growth will be in the range of 10 percent to 15 percent.

Jollibee Group Chief Executive Officer Ernesto Tanmantiong said “We are thrilled to report a strong start to the year, with 14.6 percent revenue growth and a 17.6 percent increase in operating income.

“Our margin expansion — 30 bps in gross profit and 10 bps in operating income — reflects disciplined execution positioning us well for sustained value creation and long-term growth.”

The Jollibee Group's system-wide sales (SWS) grew by 18.9 percent to ₱103.2 billion with the Philippine business growing by 11.9 percent and international by 29.5 percent.

The increase was driven by a combination of 5.5 percent same store sales growth (SSSG) mainly from volume growth and new store contribution.

SSSG of the Philippine business increased by 8.5 percent while SSSG of the international business grew slightly by 0.7 percent. The Jollibee Group’s China business declined by 8.3 percent while Smashburger also registered a negative 8.0 percent SSSG.

“The Philippine business' SWS growth was driven by robust same store sales growth across all four brands mainly coming from volume or transaction count (TC),” said Tanmantiong.

The international business delivered strong SWS performance, bolstered by the acquisition of Compose Coffee, which contributed 17.8 percent to the international business' SWS growth.

JFC’s Coffee and Tea segment — now comprising 45.4 percent of the international business' SWS —recorded a 62.2 percent increase, with Compose Coffee accounting for 49 percent of this growth.

International business' SWS for the quarter also include Tim Ho Wan which is now 100 percent-owned by the Jollibee Group effective January 2025.

The Jollibee brand maintained its strong momentum, demonstrating broad-based strength across multiple markets. SWS grew by 13.9 percent - Philippines 13.3 percent, China (Hong Kong and Macau) 12.9 percent, North America 10.9 percent, Southeast Asia 27.8 percent, Middle East 12.9 percent, Europe 10.9 percent, and Oceania (Guam) 20.2 percent.

“These results underscore the Jollibee brand's global appeal and reinforce its positioning to win with consumers across diverse international markets,” Tanmantiong said.