A restaurant giant with a major presence in Burnaby maintained a profit in its second quarter while completing acquisitions as part of an ongoing retooling of its brands.
Recipe Unlimited reported $19.4 million in net earnings or 34 cents per share for the three months ended June 27.
That compares with a loss of $40.6 million or 72 cents per share in the second quarter of 2020, when pandemic restrictions temporarily shuttered dining rooms across Canada.
Recipe Unlimited operates and franchises restaurant brands including Swiss Chalet, Harvey's, The Keg, St-Hubert, Montana's and Kelsey's.
Swiss Chalet and the Keg both operate in North Burnaby.
On an adjusted basis, the company net $7.0 million or 12 cents per share, up from 11 cents per share in the year-earlier period.
Revenue for the quarter was $207.6 million, compared with $140.4 million in 2020. The current quarter represents an improvement from the early days of COVID-19 restrictions, but it's still far below the $311.9 million in revenue for the pre-pandemic quarter in 2019.
Recipe Unlimited said restrictions on indoor dining affected more than 96 per cent of its operating weeks for the quarter.
Also during the second quarter, Recipe Unlimited acquired the remaining 50 per cent interest of The Burger's Priest and majority ownership interest in Fresh Since 1999. The company also opened its fourth Ultimate Kitchens location, where food for multiple brands is prepared for delivery.
It also announced the sale of substantially all assets of its Milestones restaurant brand in June.
"During the past 15 months, we have taken steps to strengthen our overall business. Some of the initiatives include streamlining menus, improving our digital platform, testing higher efficiency kitchen equipment, and more importantly, investing in our people and our franchisees," stated CEO Frank Hennessey.
"We have also closed underperforming restaurants, opened 42 new restaurants and have recently made changes to improve our brand portfolio mix. All of these have placed us in a strong position to be able to respond positively to the recovery."
- With files from the Canadian Press
