Cafe de Coral Holdings has rebounded from the Covid crisis, estimating profit attributable to shareholders has surged five-fold in the latest year. 

The company says the recovery of business in Hong Kong – where it is headquartered and listed – remains slower than expected and its mainland business was “seriously impacted” by a Covid-19 outbreak during the third quarter.

However in a stock-exchange filing yesterday, the company said that based on preliminary estimates, it expects to deliver a profit attributable to shareholders of between HK$105 million and $115 million (US$13.38 million to $14.65 million) compared with $21.2 million (US$2.7 million) the previous year. In FY22 the company received government Covid-19 subsidies of $127.8 million, but this dropped to $40.9 million in the latest year.

“Successful brand and product marketing campaigns helped to boost sales, coupled with multiple initiatives in digitalisation and automation to enhance productivity and efficiency,” said chairman Sunny Lo. 

The improved performance also reflected “a diligent focus on cost controls,” he said.

The final results for the year will be revealed around the middle of next month.