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Collins Foods: Sizzler's future in doubt after COVID-19 hit
The home of cheesy toast has been hammered by the COVID-19 pandemic, with its parent company hinting its survival was now uncertain.
news.com.au AUGUST 27, 2020 7:54AM
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Last updated August 27, 2020 1:59PM AEST
Sizzler's parent company Collins Foods has revealed the popular buffet chain has been decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an annual general meeting on Thursday, chairman Robert Kaye said the company was keeping a close eye on the struggling chain as a result, indicating its future seemed uncertain.
“Collins Foods continues to assess the non-core status of the Sizzler Australia business and closely monitor the pace of sales recovery,” he said.
Collins Foods is just one of a string of high profile companies to release earnings information today, with Flight Centre, Afterpay, Woolworths Group and more also in the line up.
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Sizzler's future in doubt
Collins Foods has revealed buffet legend Sizzler's future was far from certain after being pummeled by COVID-19.
The company, which also has Taco Bell and KFC in its portfolio, confirmed that Sizzler had been most impacted by the public health crisis.
Chairman Robert Kaye said the company was keeping a close eye on the struggling chain during this morning's AGM.
"As a full-service dine-in concept, Sizzler has been the brand in Collins Foods' portfolio most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.
"Collins Foods continues to assess the non-core status of the Sizzler Australia business and closely monitor the pace of sales recovery.
"Sizzler Asia royalties continue to grow, but due to the impact of COVID-19 on the China restaurants, a decision was made to exit that market, leaving 67 restaurants operating in Thailand and Japan."
However, Dr Kaye praised KFC's performance during the pandemic, and that Taco Bell sales were well on their way to returning to pre-COVID-19 levels.
Overall, the company delivered "strong earnings and dividend growth" in the face of COVID-19, with revenue up 8.9 per cent to $981.7 million.
Is it time to say goodbye to cheesy toast?
Dreamworld owner's stunning loss
The company behind iconic Aussie theme park Dreamworld has suffered a massive financial loss on the back of coronavirus shutdowns.
Owner Ardent Leisure posted a net loss of $136.6 million – and a $15.4 million devaluation in the group’s theme parks business.
Chairman Dr Gary Weiss said “uncertain and challenging conditions” remain in place for the industry.
“We believe that the demand for out-of-home family entertainment experiences will be stronger than ever once the pandemic has subsided and restrictions have eased,” he said.
“The financial assistance package provided by the Queensland Government will enable us to reopen Dreamworld and WhiteWater World and continue to employ hundreds of people, directly and indirectly.”
Zip profits soar
The buy now, pay later trend has also been a winner for Zip, with the company recording a 91 per cent jump in revenue to $161 million, compared with $84.2 million the year before.
Zip customers also increased 63 per cent to 2.1 million last financial year with merchant numbers also up 51 per cent and total transaction volume increasing 120 per cent to $2.1 billion.
"We began FY20 with a vision to become a global BNPL player and capitalise on the increasing trends fuelling the industry’s growth," chief executive Larry Diamond said.
"The successful acquisition of PartPay led us to QuadPay, all developed on the same code base, with proven portability into multiple global markets.
"We look forward to the shareholder vote next week and integrating QuadPay into our business."
ANZ's new chairman names
ANZ chairman David Gonski will depart the top job in October after six and a half years.
Paul O'Sullivan, 59, has been named as Mr Gonski's successor.
Mr Gonski, who has served as as non-executive director for more than 11 years, said it was the "right time to hand over the reins".
"We have in place an experienced, diverse and talented management team as well as having made significant progress on our ambitions to simplify and improve our operations," he said.
"Importantly, we have also taken steps to improve the governance around matters impacting our reputation, including the now well-established EESG board committee."
Afterpay nabs 20,500 new customers a day
Buy now, pay later platform Afterpay has recorded a 97 per cent jump in revenue to $519.2 million and a net loss of $22.9 million, a huge reduction from the previous year's $43.8 million loss.
The company's ambitious global expansion has helped to add around 20,500 new customers per day in the fourth quarter, with 9.9 million active customers now on the books.
The company said the focus was to "accelerate investment" this year and "expedite expansion into new markets to leverage early mover advantage".
Flight Centre's brutal $662m blow
Beleaguered travel agency Flight Centre has reported a staggering $662 million net loss for the last financial year – a drastic reversal of fortunes compared with the previous $264 million profit.
The company has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic which has essentially ground the global travel industry to a halt.
However, Managing director Graham Turner said there was some cause for optimism.
“Travel is starting to gradually recover in locations like North America, Europe and South Africa, where domestic borders are now open, although we are also seeing heightened restrictions in Australia and New Zealand after earlier relaxations," he said.
It has been a horror year for the company, with around 70 per cent of its employees stood down or laid off and plans to close around 50 per cent of stores across the world.
The business has also faced backlash from customers who initially struggled to obtain refunds for trips cancelled as a result of COVID-19.
Flight Centre's profits have slumped.
Woolworths' profit plunge
Woolworths has posted a drop in profits despite the flurry of panic buying that gripped the nation during the coronavirus pandemic.
The company's full-year net profit for 2020 fell 56.7 per cent to $1.165 billion although total revenue increased 6.2 per cent to $63.675 billion.
But much of that loss can be explained by almost $600 million in significant one-off costs, many as a result of the pandemic, and the fact that last year's earnings were pushed up by the one-off sale of the company's petrol business, which raked in $1.08 billion.
Online sales were a huge winner for the Group thanks largely to the public health crisis, with a total increase across the group of 39.1 per cent to $3.523 billion.
The Endeavour Drinks arm of the business – which is behind Dan Murphys – jumped by 23.7 per cent in the first eight weeks of the new financial year while the supermarkets side of the business saw sales jump 6.3 per cent to $42.151 billion, despite managing director and CEO Brad Banducci acknowledging a "challenging year" following the devastating bushfires, unrest in Hong Kong and COVID-19.
In an analyst briefing this morning, Mr Banducci also revealed 37 Victorian staff members had tested positive for COVID-19 in August, although 18 have since recovered.
Woolies profits are down despite panic buying.
Big W's $4.1 billion year
Woolworths Group's department store division Big W has returned to profit with total sales last year climbing by 10.5 per cent $4.1 billion.
The previously struggling retailer posted $39 million in earnings before interest and taxes.
Brad Banducci, managing director and CEO of Woolworths Group, said he was "especially proud of the achievements of the Big W team".
"Big W had strong sales momentum prior to COVID but sales growth increased materially from March," Mr Banducci said.
"Growth was initially in lower-margin household items; however, in Q4, all major categories delivered strong growth including apparel.
"Online sales increased by 181 per cent in Q4 to 8.4 per cent of total sales."
Demand has been particularly strong for items including lounge and leisurewear, sports and fitness products and toys and puzzles as families adapted to lockdown.
Mr Banducci said BIG W would now be focused on boosting the chain's in-store experience for customers as well as its online offering.
"There are many thing we can do at BIG W but growth will be through digital and e-commerce not through new stores," he said in response to a question regarding the wider challenges facing the discount department store sector.
Big W has enjoyed a bumper year.
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