Americana 2023 revenue rises on 300 new store openings

Creative Commons/Omar Chatriwala

Americana Restaurants, the Middle East and North Africa franchisee of fast-food restaurants KFC and Pizza Hut, said it will remain focused on growth and market penetration after opening a record 300 new stores last year.

The new stores pushed revenue at Americana to $2.4 billion in 2023, a gain of 1.5 percent year on year.

This was despite the $106 million impact of unfavourable foreign exchange, especially in Egypt, and the recent regional geopolitical tensions.

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Profit remained flat at $259.5 million in the year ended December 31, 2023, driven by operational efficiencies and gross margin improvements, the company, – which trades on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) – said in a statement.

However, the fast-food restaurant chain reported higher depreciation charges of $33 million year on year due to new store openings and lower revenue impact on Q4 earnings. 

Americana allocated $168 million, or seven percent of revenues, for capital expenditures last year. The new stores took the total count to 2,435 at the end of 2023. 

Additionally, the company launched Peet’s Coffee in the region by opening stores in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, a strategic move to leverage the growing demand for premium coffee.

The company announced a dividend of $130 million and an additional one-time special dividend of $50 million, subject to shareholders’ approval. Its cash flow from operations increased by nearly a fifth annually to $540 million in 2023.