Westlife Development zooms 18% on strong Q3 operational performance

The company reported a same-store sales (SSSG) growth of 9.2 per cent, over a high SSSG of 14.5 per cent reported during the same quarter last year.

Shares of Westlife Development moved higher by 18 per cent to Rs 452 on the BSE on Thursday after the company reported a strong operational performance in the October-December quarter of financial year 2019-20 (Q3FY20). The company is the owner of the master franchisee of McDonald's restaurants in West and South India.

The stock is trading close to its 52-week high level of Rs 454 hit on March 15, 2019. It hit an all-time high of Rs 464 in May 2018.

The company’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) rose 47.5 per cent year on year (YoY) at Rs 52 crore in Q3FY20. Consolidated net profit, meanwhile, more than doubled from Rs 6.9 crore to Rs 22.72 crore during the quarter. Operational revenue, too, grew 16.8 per cent YoY at Rs 433 crore.

On the back of a solid strategy centered around delivering exceptional customer experience and creating new occasions for customers to consume the brand, the company reported a same-store sales growth (SSSG) of 9.2 per cent, over a high SSSG of 14.5 per cent during the same quarter last year. The company reported a positive SSSG performance for 18th quarter in a row.

The management said the company continued to maximize operational efficiencies coupled with strict cost control that led to more than 200 basis points expansion in restaurant operating margins and operating EBITDA. The company’s strategy centered on customer experience, digitization and maximizing efficiencies is gaining momentum and delivering consistent results, it added.

At 02:37 pm, the stock was trading 17 per cent higher at Rs 447 on the BSE, as compared to a 0.54 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. The counter witnessed huge trading volumes with a combined 1.7 million equity shares, representing 1 per cent of total equity of the company, changing hands on the NSE and BSE till the time of writing of this report.