Spur Corporation, the owner of Spur and RocoMamas eateries, managed to grow franchised restaurant sales by 1% for the financial year ended June 2021, said the group in a trading statement released on Friday.
The group said the 1% restaurant sales growth represented a 67.6% increase in the second half of the financial year, over the same period in 2020, which was severely affected by the total prohibition on sit-down trade in the fourth quarter.
Its profits have been under pressure since the outbreak of Covid-19 and the company is rapidly becoming a serious fast food market competitor with the launch of Spur Steak Ranches’ first drive-through in Pretoria, with plans to introduce drive-through formats for its RocoMamas and Bento brands.
“Despite the continuation of these difficult trading conditions, the group’s casual dining restaurants were more poised to handle deliveries and takeaways, loyal customers were more responsive to convenience channels such as click and collect, and, overall, the second half of the 2021 trading year produced improved results that indicate a slow, but positive recovery,” said Spur.
Spur Steak ranches are an important part of South Africa’s dining culture with almost 300 restaurants across southern Africa, however, the impact of Covid-19 has been harsh.
“The general macro-economic impact of Covid-19, and the resultant erratic trading restrictions imposed in South Africa and globally, continue to create uncertainty in the restaurant industry and impact the group’s franchised and company-owned restaurants,” the group said.
