 "Ajay Kaul")
Jubilant FoodWorks Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ajay Kaul has resigned from his position, the company said in its filing at the BSE on Monday. Kaul's resignation, which was accepted by the board, comes at a time when Jubilant Foodworks — which is the master franchisee of Domino's and Dunkin' Donuts in India — reported decline of 3.2 per cent in its same-store sales growth (SSG) for the first quarter of financial year 2016-17, lowest in seven quarters.
At the BSE, Jubilant Foodworks's stock had tanked 10 per cent on September 6, following the company's weak June quarter performance and has remained muted ever since.
On Monday, the stock closed at Rs 1005.24 per unit on the BSE, down 3.54 per cent.
Kaul, an IIT as weel as XLRI alumnus, joined Jubilant Foodworks in 2005. He will continue in his current role till March 2017, the company informed in its filing.
A new CEO is expected to be announced soon, sources said, though the company gave no signs of it on Monday.
In April this year, the company had swapped roles of Dev Amritesh, president & chief operating officer (COO), Dunkin' Donuts India and Tarun Bhasin, president & COO, Domino's Pizza India, to invigorate the business.
Amritesh was named the president & chief business officer (CBO) of Domino's Pizza India, while Bhasin became president & CBO, Dunkin' Donuts India.
Despite this, Jubilant's SSG came below street estimates of a 4 per cent y-o-y growth in the June quarter, with the outlook expected to be weak for the next few months.
In a report dated September 3, Abneesh Roy, senior vice-president of institutional equities (research) at Edelweiss said that Jubilant's SSG dipped due to a constrained consumption environment. "The scenario remains challenging for quick-service restaurants, prompting players to dole out new offers and product innovations," he said.
