Westlife Development reports narrowing of Q2 net loss at Rs 4 cr

Westlife Development Ltd owns Hardcastle Restaurants, the master franchisee of McDonald's restaurants for West and South India

Westlife Development Ltd, which owns Hardcastle Restaurants, the master franchisee of McDonald's restaurants for West and South India, on Thursday reported narrowing of consolidated net loss at Rs 4.42 crore for September quarter 2021-22.

The company had posted a net loss of Rs 32.54 crore in July-September period a year ago, Westlife Development said in a BSE filing.

Total income was up 83.98 per cent to Rs 385.43 crore during the period under review as against Rs 209.49 crore in the year-ago period.

This growth was driven by both the company's convenience channels that continued to accelerate and dine-in that built up strong and fast.

"Convenience channels that include delivery, take-out, drive-thru and on-the-go grew by a robust 77 per cent over last year. This is in spite of a strong recovery in dine-in revenues, which almost doubled over the same quarter last year," the company said in a post earning statement.

Operating costs and expenses were higher at Rs 318.34 crore as against Rs 187.39 crore earlier.

Last month, when most restrictions were eased, the company saw 103 per cent recovery as compared to September 2019, a pre-COVID period, it added.

"The company saw complete recovery across all its markets despite continued restrictions on time and capacity in some key cities. Its delivery sales grew 50 per cent over September 2019, again a testimony to the strong convenience channel that the company has built over the last 18 months," said Westlife.

During the quarter, Westlife added 5 new McDonald's restaurants taking the total count to 310.

Vice-Chairman Amit Jatia said:With this strong performance, I believe, newer and stronger normal has emerged for us. We will continue to make bold moves to reinforce our market leadership. In the coming months, we will pick up the pace on store expansion, adding close to 30-35 new stores in our core and emerging markets, thus increasing our penetration."

Shares of Westlife Development Ltd on Thursday settled at Rs 573.15 apiece on BSE, up 1.87 per cent.