SINGAPORE (Feb 12): Kimly, the traditional coffee shop operators, announced that its earnings for 1Q19 have dropped by 8.2% to $5.27 million, compared to $5.75 million in 1Q18.
Revenue during the quarter saw a 5.0% increase to $52.6 million from $50.1 million last year, mainly due to revenue contribution from the restaurants and confectionery businesses that were acquired in July 2018, namely Tonkichi and Rive Gauche.
As cost of sales increased by 5.1% y-o-y to $42.0 million, 1Q19 gross profit came in at $10.6 million, 4.4% higher than $10.2 million in the previous year.
Interest income saw a significant increase to $219,000 compared to $85,000 a year ago.
Selling and distribution expenses increased by 55.2% y-o-y to $1.32 million, due to higher online food delivery fees, cleaning and packaging materials used, as well as advertising expenses, in line with the increase in revenue.
Administrative expenses increased by 22.7% y-o-y to $3.63 million, attributable to higher employee benefits expenses due to the increase in headcount and salaries; higher depreciation of property, plant and equipment, in line with the increase in property, plant and equipment; higher repair and maintenance expense; and higher professional fees.
Other operating expenses more than doubled to $122,000 compared to $56,000 last year, due to higher amortisation of software and lease assignment fee.
As at end-Dec, the group’s cash and cash equivalents stood at $91.1 million.
Looking forward, the group is committed to carrying out various growth initiatives, such as expanding its portfolio of coffee shops and product offerings, streamlining outlet operations, and further optimising its central kitchen.
In addition, the group is developing its own brand of Kopi and iced Teh for sale at all its coffee shops in an effort to cater to the public’s preference for healthier dining options. This is expected to be completed by March.
The group has also successfully pioneered its first innovative coffee shop in Bukit Batok, featuring an automatic conveyor belt tray return system, self-service cashless payment kiosks, and a point-of-sale system that is integrated with enterprise resource planning software to provide real-time information on sales, inventory and customer dining patterns. Kimly expects to introduce similar features in a number of other outlets this year.
Shares in Kimly closed at 24 cents on Tuesday.
