May 30, 2025

Jollibee sells stake in chicken processing landlord

Philippine food conglomerate Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) has divested its entire stake in the landlord of its poultry processing plant in a move seen to support its strategic shift toward an asset-light business model.

The homegrown fast-food giant led by tycoon Tony Tan Caktiong disclosed to the stock exchange on Monday it would sell its 30-% shareholding in C-Joy Poultry Realty Inc. to Agrotex Commodities Inc. for P33.88 million.

JFC, maker of the popular Chickenjoy meals, did not disclose additional information about Agrotex, although online search results show that its main office is in Makati City.

The shift toward an asset-light business model would enable "greater capital efficiency and sharper focus on scalable, high-return investments," JFC said in its regulatory filing.

The transaction involved 113,250 C-Joy Realty shares for ₱299.16  (US$5.37) each.

C-Joy Realty currently leases land to Cargill Joy Poultry Meat Production Inc., which operates a poultry processing plant in Batangas province.

This facility, a partnership between JFC and US-based food company Cargill Inc., supplies chicken to Jollibee Group restaurants, including the flagship Jollibee brand and chicken barbecue chain Mang Inasal.

Cargill owns the remaining 70 % of C-Joy Realty.

Switching to an asset-light business model means JFC plans to let go of some of its physical assets.

In 2021, JFC acquired a 38.71-% stake in CentralHub Industrial Centers Inc., the warehouse subsidiary of Injap Sia-led DoubleDragon Corporation, for ₱1.92 billion (US$34.51 million). JFC had agreed to infuse industrial properties into CentralHub, including its largest commissary.

JFC saw its net income in the first quarter dip by 8.1 % to ₱2.41 billion (US$43.32 million) due to higher general and administrative expenses.

Meanwhile, both the domestic and international segments boosted system-wide sales by 18.9 % to ₱103.2 billion (US$1.85 billion).

Newly acquired Compose Coffee bolstered the international business, whose sales surged by 29.5 %. The South Korean coffee brand contributed 17.8 % to the global business.

In the Philippines, sales were up by 8.5 %, mainly because of gains from Mang Inasal and the flagship Jollibee brand.

JFC chief financial and risk officer Richard Shin earlier said they would "remain proactive in managing macroeconomic and financial headwinds" this year," adding that they were "confident" in reaching their full-year growth target.

For 2025, JFC wants to grow system-wide sales by up to 12 %, and same-store sales by as much as 6 %.

-      Philippine Daily Inquirer