Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures, the operator of the restaurant chain Shakey’s, said it is cautiously optimistic about recovery even as the company saw its income swing back into positive territory in the first half after booking significant losses in the same period last year. 

Shakey’s said it posted a net income of P14 million in the first six months of the year, which was a sharp reversal of the P290 net loss it suffered in the first half of 2020. 

“Systemwide sales in the second quarter grew to P1.63 billion, 43 percent higher compared to the same period in 2020,” the company disclosed.

First-half systemwide sales meanwhile totaled P3.3 billion, close to the P3.45 billion registered during the same period in 2020.

EBITDA for the first half also stood at P404 million, with margins rising to 15.9 percent, from last year’s 6.5 percent, Shakeys said. The company also added 16 outlets that have smaller footprints, bringing its total store network count to 295 stores. 

Despite these gains, the pizza chain operator said it remains wary of uncertainties arising from the arrival of a more contagious Delta variant of COVID-19.

“We are still very much in uncertain times, thus we remain cautiously optimistic, anticipating uncertainties that may potentially delay the path to recovery,” said Vicente Gregorio, company CEO and president. 

Shakey’s noted that another round of strict lockdowns prohibiting dine-in has been imposed in parts of the country. The company however expects its delivery services to partially cushion the impact of the lockdowns. 

The company meanwhile said it is “encouraged that the vaccination rollout in the country has been ramping up in the past few months.” 

“We hope this will increase mobility and boost consumer confidence to fuel our recovery,” said Gregorio.

Shakey’s said that about half of its employees have been fully vaccinated as of this posting. The pizza chain said it is also offering “free product incentives” to vaccinated customers.