Starbucks Malaysia operator posts earnings slump, cites pandemic-induced restrictions

It hopes to have “satisfactory” results in succeeding financial year.

The Malaysian operator of Starbucks, Kenny Rogers Roasters, and Jollibean reported a pre-tax loss of 7.597 million ringgit (approx. US$1.82 million) for its financial year that ended June 30, suffering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a bourse filing, Berjaya Food Berhad revealed a pre-tax loss of 28.543 million ringgit for the three months to June 30.

Malaysia’s first set of COVID-19 movement restrictions came into effect on 18 March, which were eased from 12 May to 9 June.

Berjaya said it experienced a “significant reduction” in sales and also recorded negative same-store-sales growth during the entire period.

“Even though the Group's sales was recovering at a fast pace when Malaysia entered into the Recovery Movement Control Order ("RMCO") phase which started on 10 June 2020, the Group still recorded a much lower sales in the current quarter under review,” it said in their filing.

Berjaya noted it is “cautiously optimistic” that its operating results will be “satisfactory” in its new financial year that started 1 July, adding it has taken “various austerity measures and initiated marketing initiatives via various delivery channels to mitigate the impact on its sales.”