Jollibee Foods will ramp up spending and open more stores as hungry fast food consumers in the Philippines and the world emerge from almost two years of Covid-19 lockdowns, the company said as its fourth-quarter earnings surged back to pre-pandemic levels.
Jollibee, one of Asia’s largest food service groups, said on Thursday that it had earmarked 17.8bn pesos ($347mn) for capital spending for 2022, more than double the amount the group spent in 2021. The company, which operates 17 brands in 34 countries, said it planned to open 500 stores in 2022, up from 398 in 2021.
“We look forward to continuing strong recovery of the business in 2022 particularly if the restrictions in the Philippines are fully lifted, coupled with increased consumer spending during this election year,” chief executive Ernesto Tanmantiong said in a statement.