(See also: Food Empire swings back into profitability in 4Q with $4.1 mil of earnings)
In 4Q16, sales in Indochina rose 41.1% y-o-y in 4Q16 and 24.2% y-o-y in FY16 after the group’s aggressive advertising and promotion activities in Vietnam captured more market share in the fast-growing market.
Meanwhile, Caffebene, has the potential to contribute substantially should Food Empire manage to turn it around. Last March, the group and Eastern Valley Group took an initial US$13.6 million stake in the loss-making South Korean coffee chain.
Caffebene is said to be one of the largest coffee house chains in South Korea with a presence of about 1,000 stores worldwide. It was the first coffee franchise to receive the halal food certification on coffee beans and powder. Its latest store to open in Saudi Arabia saw sales exceed $0.2 million in just a month after opening in Dec.
Shares of Food Empire are trading at 58 cents.
