Mexican fast-food chain Guzman y Gomez set to post 2025 profit ahead of forecast (updated)

Guzman y Gomez

20/02/2025 23:37

(Updates with more detail on results, share moves)
       Feb 21 (Reuters) - Australia-listed Guzman y Gomez
 GYG.AX  said on Friday its first-half earnings nearly doubled
on strong demand for its breakfast menu, putting the
Mexican-themed fast-food chain firmly on track to beat its
forecast for annual profit.
    The company recorded a post-tax profit of A$7.3 million
($4.67 million) for the six months ended December 31, compared
with the A$3.8 million a year ago and the Visible Alpha
consensus estimate of A$6.5 million.
    That well places the quick-service restaurant chain to beat
its prospectus forecast of A$6.0 million profit for fiscal 2025,
provided before it debuted on the Australian Stock Exchange in
June last year.
    GYG raised about A$335.1 million in what was Australia's
biggest initial public offering in three years.
    Its performance is being closely scrutinised by investors to
gauge whether the company, pitched as a "growth" stock due to
its original franchise IP and ambitious targets, can live up to
its billing.
    Shares of the company fell 4% to A$43.15 in early trading on
Friday, valuing it just below A$4.5 billion. The share price has
grown nearly twofold from the issue price of A$22 apiece in just
eight months.
    The quick-service restaurant chain — which has 239 stores
globally, with 210 in Australia alone — said its Australia
network sales grew 22.7% to A$538.2 million and continued to
outperform expectations in the initial weeks of the second half
with 12.2% comparable growth.
    "Australian sales growth during the period was underpinned
by restaurant capacity expansion, dayparts growth, particularly
in breakfast, which experienced 19% comparable sales growth,"
the company said.
    GYG's global network sales jumped 23% to A$578 million in
fiscal 2024, though it fell short of the market consensus of
A$567.7 million. 

($1 = 1.5637 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan
Barona and Shilpi Majumdar)
 ((Sameer.Manekar@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: https://twitter.com/sameer_manekar))