Philippine Billionaire Po Family’s Shakey’s Sees Profits Exceeding Pre-Pandemic Levels Amid Expansion

Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures—controlled by the family of late billionaire Ricardo Po Sr.—expects profits to reach all-time highs, exceeding pre-pandemic levels by next year, as the Philippine restaurant chain accelerates expansion plans.

The company returned to the black in 2021 with a net profit of 121 million pesos ($2.3 million), compared with a net loss of 254 million pesos in the previous year as sales increased 6% to 7 billion pesos, bolstered by a surge in dine-in demand in the fourth quarter as the Philippines eased Covid-19 restrictions.

“Despite the crisis in 2020, we maintained our long-term view on sustainable growth,” Shakey’s Pizza president and CEO Vic Gregorio said in a statement. “We have made a bold decision to re-ignite our expansion plan, purposefully investing in our brands and our stores. We believe that these continuous investments amidst the pandemic will fuel our 2021 growth momentum toward a stronger 2022 reopening play.”

Shakey’s Pizza—which counts Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and tycoon Lance Gokongwei’s JE Holdings among its shareholders—added 37 outlets to its various restaurant brands in 2021, bringing the total to 316. Apart from its pizza chain, the group also operates Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken and R&B Milk Tea. Earlier this year, the company acquired Potato Corner, which has over 1,000 food kiosks in the Philippines and overseas.

“With investments and acquisitions made even in the midst of the pandemic, barring any major disruptions, we see our 2023 bottomline exceeding pre-pandemic levels,” Manny del Barrio, chief financial officer of Shakey’s Pizza, said. The company posted a record net profit of 865.2 million pesos in 2019, just before the Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the global economy.

Shakey’s Pizza is accelerating expansion plans this year, earmarking 650 million pesos in capital expenditures to open 192 stores, including 150 Potato Corner outlets. The group’s flagship pizza chain is also expanding overseas, with the opening its first outlet in Singapore last month, its fifth international location.

The company is majority-owned by Century Pacific Group, the Philippines’ dominant exporter of private-label canned tuna that was founded by Ricardo Po Sr. in 1978. Po, who passed away in October, is survived by his wife, Angelita, and his four children: Ricardo Gabriel, Teodoro Alexander, Christopher and Leonardo Arturo. Christopher is Century’s executive chairman, while Teodoro Alexander is president and CEO. With a net worth of $1.45 billion, the Po family is among the richest in the Philippines.