Sphera Franchise Group reports consolidated sales of 198.3 million RON for Q1 2020, representing a drop of 7.6 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. The drop was principally triggered by the closure or limitation of restaurant activity imposed by the governmental authorities in the markets where the group operates.

The company has managed to partially mitigate the impact of the extensive lockdown measures in Romania, Italy and the Republic of Moldova by shifting focus on Delivery and Drive Thru channels, which continue to serve food via KFC Delivery, KFC Drive Thru and Pizza Hut Delivery. While the initial impact has been an overall drop in sales of 80 percent Y/Y (in the first three weeks of lockdown), the group managed to gradually increase its operations so that its current level of sales are 65 percent below the previous year’s level.

Sphera currently has 82 stores in operation (out of the total of 154 stores), of which 46 KFC stores in Romania, 10 KFC stores in Italy, 1 KFC store in Republic of Moldova, 20 Pizza Hut stores and 5 Taco Bell stores.

Restaurant operating profit decreased to 7.4 million RON in Q1-2020 (3.8 percent of sales), down 66 percent compared with the previous year, while the operational result registered a loss of 6.5 million RON, compared to a profit of 8.7 million in the previous year.

Sphera restricted its restaurant operations in Romania on 18 March, following the order issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs prohibiting the serving of food in enclosed spaces. The Group decided to implement additional safety measures in all operating restaurants around the country, strengthening hygiene and safety procedures already in place.