YO! Sushi's UK earnings drop 29%
Worldwide, the firm gained a 47% boost in adjusted earnings.
YO! Sushi’s adjusted earnings in the UK declined by 29%, according to its Group and UK financial results for the year ended 27 November 2018.
Reported EBITDA dropped to £5.9m from £8.3m, which the company explains as “a resilient performance despite significant investment in developing new concepts and products in light of the new global strategy, as well as well-publicised industry cost inflation.”
YO!’s total UK turnover was up 5% to £88.9m from £84.8m, which includes a like-for-like increase of 1% driven by its new promotions such as Green Wednesdays, its expanded dedicated vegan and vegetarian menu, targeted promotions such as Kids Eat Free and as well as a “significant increase” in to-go and delivery.
The period also saw a 22.9% rise in like for like revenues from YO! To Go, not including sales via Deliveroo. New openings in the period included Watford in the UK, and five new franchise restaurants: three in Paris Charles du Gaulle airport and two in Sydney airport. The board also decided to exit six sites in the UK in line with its diversification strategy.
During the financial year, the chain said it implemented its “Say YO! To the Future” internal change programme, geared to best position itself for the next five to 10 years.
Globally, however, adjusted EBITDA for the YO! Group was up 47% to £12.5m from £8.5m. Group total reported sales, including net franchise sales from Bento, YO! UK, and seven months of Taiko, were up 69.6% to £152.5m from £89.9m. Group system sales, meanwhile, stood at £201.2m.
Taiko Foods, a supplier of pre-packaged sushi to brands such as Waitrose, was acquired by the group in April 2018.
“These results clearly show how we have significantly expanded our business with the Bento and Taiko acquisitions. Not only has it doubled our revenues, it has completely diversified our business across geographies and formats,” YO! CEO Richard Hodgson said in an announcement.
