Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC), Highlands Coffee's parent company, recently announced its financial results, revealing that the coffee chain's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) exceeded 1 billion Philippine pesos (PHP), equivalent to nearly 440 billion VND. This marks a substantial increase of over 70% compared to Q2/2025 and represents the highest EBITDA in the company's operating history.

EBITDA is a metric that reflects profit before interest expenses, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, offering a clearer view of a business's core operational profitability. For retail and food and beverage (F&B) chains, which typically operate large networks of stores, significant capital expenditures and asset depreciation costs are common. Consequently, EBITDA enables investors to assess the operational efficiency of store systems and compare businesses with varying financial structures, investment levels, or expansion timelines.

However, EBITDA does not fully account for all the costs a business incurs to maintain and expand its operations. Therefore, a high EBITDA does not necessarily mean a company has abundant cash reserves or high net profit.

The improved business performance underscores Highlands Coffee's growing importance to Jollibee. Among the business segments with separate reported data, the brand's profitability ranks second only to Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, contributing over 8,6% of the group's total EBITDA.

JFC's report did not specify the coffee chain's exact revenue. However, SuperFoods, a Jollibee subsidiary responsible for Highlands Coffee and Pho24, reported Q2 revenue of nearly 3,8 billion PHP, equivalent to approximately 1,610 billion VND. Given that Pho24 operates only 14 stores, this indicates Highlands Coffee's substantial revenue contribution to SuperFoods.

A Highlands Coffee store in Thuan Hoa ward, Hue City. The chain has been actively expanding its network in prime locations and experimenting with new concepts. Photo: Highlands Coffee

A Highlands Coffee store in Thuan Hoa ward, Hue City. The chain has been actively expanding its network in prime locations and experimenting with new concepts. Photo: Highlands Coffee

Concurrent with its network expansion, Highlands Coffee is exploring plans for an initial public offering (IPO), anticipated in Q1/2027. The objective is to raise capital to support the coffee chain's next growth phase, enhance its corporate image, and enable a sharper focus on strategy and operations.

Highlands Coffee was established in 1999, initially offering packaged coffee before expanding into the cafe model. Since then, the chain has consistently grown, becoming a renowned brand and extending its reach into international markets.

Highlands Coffee joined Jollibee Foods Corporation (Philippines) in 2012. In an interview with VnExpress in 4/2025, founder and CEO David Thai affirmed that the coffee chain remains a Vietnamese enterprise, with Jollibee acting solely as an investor and strategic advisor, not involved in day-to-day business operations. David Thai continues to lead all operational management and human resources.

By Tat Dat