Sphera Franchise Group, the largest group in the food service industry in Romania, announces its third-quarter 2025 financial results. For the first nine months of 2025, the Group reported total sales of 1.15 billion RON, up 0.7 percent YoY. Normalized EBITDA reached RON 96.2 million (-25.5 percent), while normalized net profit stood at RON 42.8 million (-40.1 percent).

The decline in net profit for the first three quarters of the current year compared to 2024 was driven by the impact of several factors: elevated operating expenses, particularly payroll costs, stagnant sales on Sphera Franchise Group’s main market, Romania, cautious consumer behavior amid political and economic uncertainty, and intensified competition for quick service restaurants (QSR).

“The first nine months of the year marked a difficult political, economic and subsequently fiscal backdrop in the Group’s main market, significantly affecting the entire HoReCa sector and our activity. Our commitment to shareholders remains firm: we continue to invest in network development, diversify our portfolio by introducing and expanding new brands, such as Cioccolatitaliani and Hard Rock Cafe, and intensify our efficiency efforts to deliver long-term value for customers and investors. The recent decision to distribute additional dividends of RON 40.2 million, equivalent to RON 1.04 gross per share, reflects our confidence in the Group’s long-term potential”, declared Călin Ionescu, CEO of Sphera Franchise Group.

The Group continued its network expansion with two new restaurants in October: a Taco Bell unit in Promenada Mall in Bucharest and a KFC Drive-Thru unit in Udine, Italy.