Westlife Foodworld: Improved Off-Premises Sales & Launch Of Big Mac

Westlife Foodworld Limited (NSE: WESTLIFE) is an Indian franchise partner of the McDonald’s brand, which is currently the market leader in burger category. The company’s menu includes a wide range of vegetarian and non-vegetarian items, including burgers, fries, wraps, beverages, and desserts. It has a strong focus on innovation and technology, and digital initiatives to enhance the customer experience. Over the past few year, leveraging its menu innovation capability, the company has ventured into different categories like beverages by introducing McCafé. As the QSR industry is experiencing growth, the other players in this industry is relying on food aggregators to ride this wave. Westlife is developing McDonald’s online presence and delivery system to gain edge over the competition. The company has also launched a mobile app and loyalty program to engage with its customers and offer personalized promotions and discounts.

Westlife Foodworld’s Financial Performance Of Q3 FY23

Westlife Foodworld Limited reported Total Revenue for Q3 FY23 of ₹611.46 Crore up from ₹476.83 Crore year on year, a growth of 28.2%. This was backed up by a healthy rise in visitor numbers and a 20% increase in same-store sales. The company’s profitability improved overall, with an all-time high EBITDA margin of 18%. Consolidated Net Profit of ₹37.03 Crore, up 82.1% from ₹20.33 Crore in the same quarter of the previous year. While the operating margin for restaurants jumped by an impressive 35% year over year.

Westlife Foodworld’s Share Price Performance

Westlife Foodworld Limited announced the results for Q3 FY23 on February 1, 2022. The company’s share price dipped slightly by 2% following the results.
Last 1 month: 0.8%
Last 6 months: -0.7%
Last 12 months: 48.7%

Off-Premises Channel Drove Total Sales

The company’s on-premise and off-premise channels both experienced consistent growth as a result of the omni-channel model’s strengthening and ongoing emphasis on cost optimization. The on-premise channel which includes Dine-in was surged by 42% year-on-year growth and 23% over the pre-COVID levels. The on-premise company is continuing its trend of strong growth and expanding significantly. Families are going back to the restaurants as a result of the family-focused advertising campaigns, which also contributed to the on-premises growth.

While the off-premises channel which includes McDonald’s mobile app, self-ordering kiosks, and the McDelivery channel contributes to more than 57% of the system’s total sales. The off-premises business grew by 12% year-on-year and 85% when compared to the pre-COVID levels. This growth is driven by healthy consumer adoption of these digital channels, which has also assisted the business in gaining market share among QSRs.

Furthermore, the company saw higher sales growth in their own channel, the McDelivery platform as a result of strong performance in the delivery.
While comparing to the demand from McDelivery platform to the third party aggregator, the management said, “Currently, the aggregator demand is higher than our own app. But our own app is growing quite well. We have, as we’ve said in our report as well, between the two 22+ million customers downloads now and the number of active users is increasing month-on-month, but it is dominated by third-party aggregators even today.”

McDonald’s Store Expansion Plan

As of Q3 FY23, the company operated 341 McDonald’s restaurants across 50 cities. Of which 288 stores have McCafés, 67 have drive-throughs, and 205 of them offer the EOTF (Experience of the Future). Over 60 stores transitioned to the EOTF format during the quarter. In the January month, McDonald’s opened six new stores. The management is confident in maintaining the goal of opening 35 to 40 new stores in FY23 due to the very strong store opening pipeline. Moreover, McDonald’s is committed to open 580 to 630 more stores by 2027 as part of ambitious expansion plans.

The company is focusing more on the non-metro towns as they see a lot of opportunity available for expansion. The demand in non-metro town has grown dramatically from pre-COVID levels. Hence, the company sees a potential to reach 130 cities. This rapid expansion plan should accelerate Total Sales of the business and generate long-term value for the stakeholders.

Menu Initiatives & Breakfast Opportunity

McDonald’s menu initiatives like the KITKAT collaborations and McCheese Burgers received positive consumer feedback. In January, the business made the chicken Big Mac available for the first time in India. Meanwhile, the Fried chicken which was introduced in the South also continues to do well. At the end of this quarter, McSpicy Fried Chicken Wings are available in Hyderabad and three or four restaurants in other places. In contrast, the chicken Big Mac was introduced throughout the system, making it accessible at all restaurants.

Regarding the breakfast menu, around 30% – 35% of the McDonald’s restaurant serve breakfast. Normally, this is served from 7:00 to 11:00 in the morning.
The management commented on the breakfast menu, “Breakfast for us is a huge opportunity, especially on highways, etcetera, where there is a big morning business. In key cities like Mumbai and Bangalore, we’ve got substantial number of stores doing breakfast. For us, breakfast is a growth lever, which will play at some point in time. Right now, we are more focused towards meal as an occasion. And then primarily burgers, chicken, and coffee are the three areas where we see right now we need to have our laser-sharp focus on.”