Jollibee Foods Corp., the Philippines' largest restaurant operator, said third-quarter systemwide sales rose 15.6% from a year earlier to 133.0 billion pesos, its fastest pace this year, as its overseas chains grew about half again as fast as the home business it is preparing to split from.

The results matter beyond Manila because the international arm is the asset Jollibee plans to list in Hong Kong. Markets outside the Philippines contributed 49.1% of group systemwide sales in the July to September quarter, against 50.9% for the domestic business, according to the company's results release. Management described it as close to an even split. Investors weighing the eventual Hong Kong offering now have a clearer picture of what that business looks like: fast-growing in Vietnam and North America, heavy on coffee and tea, and still carrying a turnaround at Smashburger.

Vietnam and Highlands Coffee lead Jollibee's overseas growth

International systemwide sales rose 19.1% in the quarter, while the Philippines grew 12.5%. Jollibee Vietnam posted the sharpest gain, with sales up 50.6% and same-store sales up 17.3%. Highlands Coffee, the Vietnamese café chain, grew 40.7%. Jollibee North America rose 18.9%, with same-store sales up 4.1%. Yonghe King grew 18.1% and Tim Ho Wan rose 13.7%.

Like-for-like growth was slower overseas than at home. Same-store sales rose 6.7% in the Philippines but only 2.5% internationally, for a group figure of 4.7%, which the company said beat both earlier quarters this year. In the Philippines, the company said Jollibee and Mang Inasal lifted both average checks and transaction counts despite what it called a challenging domestic economy. The coffee and tea segment recorded same-store growth of 3.5%. Smashburger posted 3.8%.

Chief Executive Ernesto Tanmantiong said the overseas business had "outpaced the Group's systemwide sales growth." He also said the company had identified 1,500 potential trade areas in the Philippines for 2027 to 2030, a sign that the parent intends to keep expanding at home after the separation.

The store count reached 10,943 at the end of September, up 6.2% from a year earlier, with 3,530 in the Philippines and 7,413 abroad. Jollibee opened 745 gross new stores over the period and added 172 through the acquisition of Shabu All Day. Franchisees ran 506 of the new openings, or 68%. Capital Times has reported on the planned Hong Kong listing of the overseas unit, which InsiderPH said could take place by late 2027.

Spinoff costs and a legal accrual trim Jollibee's profit

Revenue rose 14.9% to 87.7 billion pesos and operating income rose 11.0% to 5.7 billion pesos. Profit lagged. Net income attributable to shareholders increased 7.4% to 3.3 billion pesos, and total net income rose 3.6% to 3.2 billion pesos.

The gap came from what the company called specified items. It booked about 194 million pesos of expenses tied to the international spinoff, plus about 262 million pesos for a one-time accrual for legal proceedings and a non-cash revaluation loss. Stripping those out, net of an 81.4 million peso tax effect, operating income would have grown 17.7% and attributable profit 19.4%, according to the company's figures. Its administrative expenses also included store closure and lease termination costs at Smashburger, which is moving toward a mostly franchised model; those costs were left in both reported and adjusted results.

Richard Shin, the group's global chief financial officer and head of Jollibee Group International, said operating income growth had improved through the year and that the company grew profit "despite significant expenses" linked to the spinoff. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose to 12.1 billion pesos from 11.0 billion pesos.

The nine-month picture is weaker. From January to September, systemwide sales rose 13.5% to 377.7 billion pesos and revenue rose 11.6% to 250.2 billion pesos, but operating income slipped 1.3% to 15.9 billion pesos and attributable profit fell 6.1% to 8.1 billion pesos. Basic earnings per share for the nine months were 7.011 pesos, down 6.3%. For a group in the middle of a restructuring, the third quarter shows sales momentum returning faster than margins.

Dividend steady as Manila stocks slide

The board approved a regular cash dividend of 2.11 pesos a share on Nov. 10, payable Dec. 16 to holders of record on Nov. 24. The ex-dividend date is Nov. 23. That brings regular dividends for 2026 to 3.44 pesos a share, the same as in 2025.

The release landed in a soft market. The Philippine Stock Exchange index fell 1.18% to 5,593.49 on Friday, a third straight decline, and closed at its lowest level of the year, according to The Philippine Star, which cited brokers who said third-quarter corporate earnings had failed to lift sentiment. The services sector, which includes restaurant operators, fell 3.11%, the worst of any sector. Readers following the region's quick-service chains can compare Jollibee's numbers with Restaurant Brands Asia's first profit in India.

The next dates on Jollibee's calendar are the Nov. 23 ex-dividend date and the Dec. 16 payment. The bigger milestone is the listing itself, where the overseas business will need to show that 2.5% same-store growth can rise closer to the 6.7% the Philippine stores are delivering.