Fulum Interim Results Out of the Red 　Recorded a net profit of approximately HK$8.7 million 　Expand the catering portfolio to meet the needs of diners

Financial Highlights

For the six months ended 30 Sep
HK$’000	2022	2021	Change
Revenue	764,560	787,123	-2.9%
Profit attributable to owners of the Group	8,668	(2,258)	-
Gross profit	531,928	519,461	+2.4%
Gross profit margin	69.6%	66.0%	+3.6 p.p.
Basic earning /(loss) per share (HK cents)	0.67	(0.17)	-

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach - 29 November 2022 - The board of directors of Fulum Group Holdings Limited (HKEx stock code: 1443, the “Group” or “Fulum”) announced its interim results and its financial position. For the six months ended 30 September 2022 (the “Reporting Period”), the Group recorded net profit of approximately HK$8.7 million, compared with a net loss of approximately HK$2.3 million in the corresponding period last year.

During the Reporting Period, the Group recorded revenue of approximately HK$764.6 million; gross profit of approximately HK$531.9 million, representing a 2.4% YoY growth; gross profit margin increased by 3.6 percentage points to 69.6%; basic earning per share was HK 0.67 cents.

Business Review

During the Reporting Period, the HKSAR Government gradually relaxed its pandemic prevention and control measures including the extension of dine-in service hour, relaxation of the number of people per table for restaurant and banquets. In the face of changing consumption and catering patterns, as well as structural changes in the catering market, the Group continued to adopt a branding strategy of full-time catering to meet the challenges by increasing the number of brands and categories under its“Asian Catering Line” to diversify its catering business, with an aim to meet consumer’s around-the-clock catering needs enabling customers to enjoy delicacies at various types of the Group’s restaurants at any time.

The Group has been expanding its catering brands in residential areas at a moderate and prudent pace. As at 30 September 2022, the Group operated a total of 96 restaurants in Hong Kong, including 16 restaurants under the “Fulum” main brand, 7 restaurants under the “Sportful Garden” main brand, 73 restaurants under the “Asian Catering Line” main line as well as 7 supermarkets, and 3 restaurants in the Mainland China.

During the Reporting Period, the Group offered customers with a traditional Chinese dining experience under the “Fulum ” main brand and “Sportful Garden ” main brand. The “Fulum” main brand offers a wide variety of Cantonese delicacies to mass market customers. Restaurants under the “Sportful Garden” main brand focus on mid-to-high-end Cantonese cuisine and attract customers who put a high value on quality with luxurious decorations. During the pandemic, people tend to cook at home or purchase takeaway more often instead of dining out. The Group has adjusted its business strategy in a timely manner and actively launched a variety of takeaway and anti-epidemic set meal offers, and continued to develop an online shopping platform under Fulum to cater to the tastes and needs of the market by regularly launching selected set meals for self-pickup delivery, BBQ assortment and dishes for self-pickup delivery to attract customers both online and offline so that people can still enjoy quality dishes during the outbreak.

The Group continues to introduce multi-cuisine to the “Asian Catering Line” main line, in order to satisfy different customer preferences and enhance the dining experience. With the change in the structure of local catering, the Group’s pursuit of diversified scenes and new product structure has led to the introduction of multi-cuisine. With the motto of “All-inclusive yet Minutely Meticulous”, we provide the local consumers with Korean barbecue restaurants combining authentic Korean food and traditional culture, the first modern Korean izakaya in Hong Kong, classic chain Korean fried chicken, stylish casual Korean and Japanese cafes, elegant bars and restaurants and food courts. Going forward, the Group will continue to expand its non-Chinese restaurant brands and create online and offline retail brands. In addition to internal incubation, the Group will actively introduce characteristic brands of multinational franchises, create multi-scene restaurant services and deepen the construction of the catering ecosystem.

The following table sets forth the number of restaurants by business for the Reporting Period:

	For the six months ended 30 Sep
Number of restaurants in HK (as at 30 Sep)	2022	2021
“Fulum” main brand	16	18
“Sportful Garden” main brand	7	8
“Asian Catering Line” main line	73	57
Total	96	83

During the pandemic, customers spend more time on home cooking and dining, leading to the persistent market demand for quality ingredients. In addition to operating supermarkets in residential areas to provide mass and quality products for customers, such as high-quality frozen meat, seafood straight from the source, fresh vegetables and fruits, grains and oil, the Group also provided online shopping services to enable customers to buy fresh ingredients anytime and anywhere during the period. The Group will continue to open more supermarkets in residential areas while optimizing its product portfolio to cater for the customers’ needs.

Prospects and Outlook

The Group believes that our branding strategy of full-time dining and adjusting the menu portfolio of each brand in response to market conditions will provide us with a sustainable and stable growth momentum. Meanwhile, as the situation of global vaccination and the pandemic stabilized, the reopening of borders in multiple countries and regions is expected to boost cross-border economic activities. The Group expects that the ease of entry restrictions will further revitalize the local catering market and act as one of the growth drivers for the Group’s business. In order to meet the capricious market environment and customer consumption patterns, we continue to expand our “Asian Catering Line” main line, deepen our casual dining portfolio, and meet the needs of the masses through a small-store group management approach. We will review our operation strategy as appropriate, increase the sales channels of our restaurants and strengthen our digital marketing to build the Group into a diversified catering kingdom and strengthen our market position by increasing our market share and enhancing our competitiveness. On the front of pandemic prevention and control, the Group will not slacken its efforts despite the gradual stabilized pandemic situation. It will strictly implement pandemic prevention measures in its restaurants, in hope of welcoming the post-pandemic dawn together with the industry and Hong Kong people.

Mr. Keith Wu, Vice Chairman and CEO of the Group, said, “Despite the adversity brought by Covid-19 to the local catering industry, our team has continued to persevere trying times. We constantly review our operation strategy and optimize our product and brand portfolio in order to strengthen our catering ecosystem. Thanks to these efforts, we have successfully achieved a profit turnaround during the Reporting Period. Looking ahead, we will continue to explore market opportunities in a cautiously optimistic manner, and strike a balance between business growth and risk management, in the hopes of bringing better returns to our shareholders.”

Hashtag: #Fulum

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Fulum Group Holdings Limited

Fulum Group Holdings Limited, a well-known diversified catering group in Hong Kong, has more than 30 years of experience in Chinese or Cantonese catering management. Through the "Fulum" main brand, the "Sportful Garden" main brand and the "Asian Catering Line" main line, the Group provides all kinds of catering services and create a full-time catering eco-system with an aim to meet the catering needs of diners.

As at 30 September 2022, the Group operated a total of 96 restaurants in Hong Kong, including 16 restaurants under the “Fulum” main brand, 7 restaurants under the “Sportful Garden” main brand, 73 restaurants under the “Asian Catering Line” main line as well as 7 supermarkets and 3 restaurants in the Mainland China. In the recent years, the Group has launched diversified restaurants including Korean light meal restaurants, Korean barbecue restaurants, Japanese hot pot, stylish Korean and Japanese cafe and food courts. The Group established the food court brand “Foodeli” in July 2019 to expand its revenue and market share with new business model.