Americana Restaurants is on track to hit record revenues and market share, its chairman Mohamed Alabbar has revealed.
“What we are providing is the real bread and butter of human life. You can’t survive without eating every day. You can survive without buying a car every day, or buying new clothes every day, but you need to eat every day. And we are feeding 70 million people a year through our restaurants,” he said in an interview with Arabian Business.
The projected growth, ahead of its stock market flotation on the Saudi Tadawul and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, is set to help the group double its revenues to over $4bn a year in the medium term.
The company operates 12 international restaurant brands in 12 countries, in the MENA region and Kazakhstan, including KFC, Pizza Hut, Hardee’s, Krispy Kreme and TGI Fridays. Americana recorded full year 2021 profits of $204m on revenues of $2.1bn.
With the sector worth $56bn and CAGR of 14%, Alabbar says Americana is now primed to take the “lions share” of the market.
“There are many factors at play here, all of which we have been building upon in the last few years. Yes, this is a traditional business in one sense, but we have been focused on several digital measures to really improve efficiency and enhance the customer experience,” Alabbar said.
In June this year, Americana partnered Miso Robotics to become the first firm in the MENA region to use robotics in kitchens. The machines can independently do the work of an entire fry station.
“These are the kind of things that make a difference. The customer doesn’t see them, but he can experience them. Everything we do is data driven and innovation driven. We now have the systems and culture in place to make data driven decisions when it comes to sales, HR, finance and operations. As a company, this can reduce the amount of time spent on administrative work by 80 per cent. We are also focused on quality and sustainability” he added.
Americana operates KFC, Pizza Hut and Krispy Kreme
Americana operates 2050 restaurants, with the largest share of 492 in the UAE, followed by 483 in Saudi Arabia.
Alabbar bought the group in 2016 through his private vehicle Adeptio AD Investments SPC. The company then delisted from the Kuwaiti Stock Exchange and a 50 percent stake in the business was sold to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
The company intends to sell 30 percent of its share capital in the first ever dual listing on the Saudi Tadawul and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.
The shares are being offered in the restaurants side of the business. These account for around 50 percent of the company – the remainder, which comprises its food manufacturing operation – is remaining private.
The offering will run from November 14 to November 21 for retail investors, and a day later for institutional investors, with 2.52 billion shares available. The listing of shares will be from the first week of December.
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