Sushi and bento chain Wasabi is set to deliver its plans to expand across the UK, despite having suffered a drop in pre-tax profit in 2024.
According to recently filed Companies House reports for the 52 weeks to 28 December 2024, profit before tax fell to £2.2m in 2024, down from £7.7m the year prior. Meanwhile, its employee headcount fell from 1,314 in 2023 to 1,186 and turnover saw a modest uptick, from £120.2m to £121.6m.
Despite having reduced the number of stores it operates, from 41 in 2023 to 40 currently, a statement signed off by the board said Wasabi was now able to deliver on its plans to expand and was “exploring opportunities to work with franchise partners to accelerate this growth”.
“The company is well advanced in building a strong new pipeline for new restaurants across the UK,” it added.
Despite the decline in profits, Wasabi said that its strong foundations, including a dedicated focus on restaurants, grocery and manufacturing, and having strong leadership and management positions in place, allowed it to “perform well in 2024, delivering our sales targets, surpassing our EBITDA targets and meeting our bank covenant”.
Over the period, the chain’s EBITDA soared by 61.1% to £7.3m.
It noted that its restaurant division performed well despite a “challenging market environment, with particularly strong growth in travel hub locations”.
Wasabi added that its grocery division delivered “exceptional growth”, driven by the launch of its range in Morrisons and Co-op in the fourth quarter of 2024 and its “continued strong performance” in Sainsbury’s and Tesco.
“An ongoing focus on product innovation and deeper distribution with existing customers helped expand our core offering and extend reach to consumers across the UK,” the statement added.
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