Sphera Franchise Group estimates 33 percent higher sales in 2022 compared to 2021, budgets investments of over 20 million Euro

Sphera Franchise Group, the owner of the companies operating the KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell brands in franchise system in Romania, has budgeted for 2022 sales in restaurants of over EUR 266 million, 33 percent higher compared to 2021, of which 27 percent are estimated to be achieved through the delivery channel. Normalized EBITDA is projected to increase by 31 percent to EUR 19.2 million.

“The year 2021 was unpredictable, and 2022 is expected to be just as challenging in the context of inflation and the economic situation in general. However, our development plans for 2022 remain ambitious and we are confident in our performance. For this year, we have budgeted investments of over 20 million euros in opening new restaurants and remodeling existing ones,” said Calin Ionescu, General Manager of Sphera.

This budget proposal is based on the macroeconomic context which will be influenced by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and takes into account that the RON will continue to depreciate slightly against the euro, as well as Sphera’s expectations of general inflation of 10 percent and the increase in the minimum wage as of January 2022.

In terms of development, Sphera will focus on opening 18 restaurants (9 KFC Romania, 2 KFC Italy, 4 Pizza Hut, both Fast Casual delivery and Express restaurants and 3 Taco Bell), with an estimated investment cost of around EUR 15,5 million. In addition, under the plan negotiated with Yum!, the investment in the remodeling of restaurants and the implementation of digital command solutions (kiosks) was estimated at EUR 4.5 million. Sphera has 170 restaurants in the 3 markets in which it operates and has over 4,700 employees.