Leading restaurant company in the red for first time

It reported a loss of VND430 billion (US$18.8 million) on revenues of VND3.32 trillion, down 27 percent from 2020.

The gross profit margin declined by 1.5 percentage points to 58 percent.

The company said it cut fixed costs but not enough to offset the revenue slump, while financial expenses more than doubled due to interest.

It borrowed VND370 billion from VietinBank last year, and issued VND488 billion worth of bonds.

Golden Gate chairman Dao The Vinh said the F&B sector was badly hit by the fall in demand due to Covid.

But the situation has been gradually improving since the fourth quarter of 2021, he said, adding the number of customers in December was up eight times from three months earlier to one million.

Founded in 2005, Golden Gate was one of the first players in Vietnam to launch restaurant chains.

It currently owns over 20 brands and nearly 400 outlets across the country, and serves 18 million customers annually.