RFGPF (RFGPF) Q4 2026 Earnings Report, Transcript and Summary

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining the Retail Food Group FY '26 Results Presentation. My name is Peter George, and I'm the Executive Chairman of RFG. I'm joined today by Ryan Chellingworth, our Chief Financial Officer and Joint Company Secretary. Today, we will begin with an update on the business and the progress made across our transformation program. Ryan will then take you through the FY '26 financial results in more detail. I'll then return to discuss current trading, the FY '27 outlook and our priorities for the year ahead before we open for questions. Just to remind you, RFG is a multi-brand food franchisor and supply chain operator, owner of 9 brands across approximately 1,200 outlets in 29 countries, including 665 outlets in Australia. We manufacture and distribute pie and coffee products and hold the exclusive license to develop the Firehouse Subs business in Australia. The partnership with our franchise partners is the core of our business. RFG's support of its franchise partners helps their stores succeed through improving store-level sales, increased store level profitability, which drives shared growth for the mutual benefit of franchise partners, RFG and our shareholders. Improving franchise partner profitability remains RFG's core focus. RFG performs best when our franchise partners operate healthy and sustainable businesses. Our priorities are profitable core brand growth, stronger customer engagement, improved store economics and efficient group support. We are delivering these priorities through a simpler operating model and 3 transformation work streams. First, cost rationalization has aligned the cost base for the portfolio, consolidated operations at Robina and reduced management layers. Secondly, operational enhancement is streamlining processes, improving supply chain and field team effectiveness and delivering more responsive franchise partner support. And thirdly, structural alignment has established accountable brand-aligned leadership, aligning operations and marketing by brand and retaining efficient central support functions. Together, these actions provide a simpler operating platform focused on stronger store economics and sustainable network growth. Turning to the key business highlights. FY '26 underlying EBITDA was delivered within guidance with second half EBITDA improving 20.9% on the first half. Costs -- the key cost rationalization and structural alignment initiatives were completed during the second half, while operational enhancements remain well progressed. This includes rightsizing the business, consolidating our Southeast Queensland offices and materially reducing recurring company store cash outflows. While core brand trading remained affected by challenging consumer conditions, average weekly sales across the group increased by 1.2% during the year, and we are seeing encouraging brand level proof points. These include Gloria Jean's refurbished outlets generating higher average weekly sales. Crust and Beefy's both delivering network sales growth and initiatives at Donut King and Brumby's supporting positive early FY '27 same-store sales growth. The first Firehouse Subs store has traded strongly since opening, serving 750 tickets on grand opening day, while the Turkiye Hub is fully operational and supporting international outlet growth. These achievements, together with the February refinancing, provide a more stable and efficient platform for RFG's FY '27 growth priorities. As we look to FY '27, we expect the initiatives undertaken to deliver benefits for both franchise partners through improved unit economics and for the group in the form of improved gross margins from wholesale coffee price increases delivered in March 2026 together with lower input costs, full year run rate benefits of the cost-out initiatives and continued improvements in cash flow, building on the second half of '26 momentum. Turning to the FY '26 result on Slide 7. As I said, underlying EBITDA was $20.3 million within the guidance range provided to the market back in February. Domestic network sales were $490 million, down 3.1%, while same-store sales declined slightly by 0.7%. This reflected difficult consumer conditions, closure of noncore brand and low-performing outlets and the company store strategy reset. Domestic outlets ended the period at 665, which was down 29 from December 2025, reflecting lower performing and noncore outlet closures, the company store reset and broader network movements. 6 new outlets opened in the second half of 2026. Underlying revenue for RFG was $99.6 million and underlying NPAT of $7.8 million. While earnings were lower than the prior year, the second half trajectory improved as transformation benefits emerged with initial savings of $2.3 million. Wholesale coffee pricing, improved procurement and the Turkiye supply hub all started to contribute from the second half. Second half '26 underlying EBITDA was 20.9% up on the first half at $11.1 million. The transformation benefits, of course, were only partly reflected in FY '26 and provide a stronger operating base entering FY '27. Ryan will take you through the financial result and underlying adjustments in more detail later in the presentation. Looking at the network results in more detail on Slide 8. The FY '26 performance reflects those difficult consumer conditions, a lower outlet base and ongoing portfolio optimization. Performance differed across the portfolio with Coffee, Cafe, and Bakery still affected by softer customer traffic, while quick service restaurants delivered positive same-store sales growth of 0.7%, supported by improved customer positioning and marketing initiatives. The core brand network remains substantial, generating $476 million of network sales across 649 domestic outlets at period end. We opened 6 core brand outlets during the second half. Closures included lower performing outlets, company store exits and noncore locations. While we will always prefer to retain viable outlets, our priority is ensuring a sustainable network in which franchise partners can achieve appropriate store economics. The company store reset also progressed with 74% of the outlets exited transitioned to franchise partners agreed for sale or closed. As mentioned, the first Firehouse Subs restaurant opened in FY '26, and we continue to target 4 Australian restaurants by December of this year. Overall, the network enters FY '27 with a more focused outlet base, improving momentum in QSR and clearer priorities across the core brand portfolio. Turning to Slide 9. Our core brands provide RFG with significant customer reach and a substantial platform for future growth. Donut King, Crust, and Gloria Jean's provide established network scale, while Brumby's and Beefy's offer opportunities to improve store economics and expand their domestic presence. Firehouse Subs represents an earlier stage growth platform. First Australian restaurant, as mentioned, opened near the end of FY '26 with the initial rollout progressing separately from the established brand networks. Our focus is not simply on increasing outlet numbers. We are concentrating investment and support on improving customer engagement, strengthening franchise partner economics and developing operating models that can support sustainable network growth. The following slides present further detail on the initiatives and opportunities within each of these brands. Starting with Gloria Jean's, the Gloria Jean's Glorange format continues to provide encouraging evidence that investment in the customer experience can deliver meaningful sales improvement. 10 outlets were trading under the new format at year-end, comprising 9 refurbished stores and 1 new outlet. Across the refurbished stores, average weekly sales were 19% higher during the first 8 weeks following refurbishment. Five additional refurbishments have already been agreed for the first half of FY '27, providing further opportunities to validate the format across the network. While the rollout remains at an early stage, the performance to date supports the continued renewal of the Gloria Jean's network. The opportunity for Gloria Jean's extends beyond the physical store format. We are restoring the in-store experience through a more premium and personalized coffee proposition supported by renewed coffee excellence training and a simpler menu and pricing structure. These changes are intended to improve both customer relevance and franchise partner economics, including through opportunities to reduce cold drink cost of goods. Donut King's FY '26 initiatives are focused on reconnecting with core customers and strengthening the proposition for franchise partners. The brand is returning to its core products, supported by more consistent media activity and enhanced value program and the reintroduction of licensed partnerships that create relevant customer occasions. The loyalty app and click and collect capability will also be relaunched to support customer frequency and convenience. Importantly, several of these initiatives are yet to launch and are not reflected in current trading. Same-store sales increased 0.3% over the first 8 weeks of FY '27. This represents continued growth despite the challenging consumer conditions and follows positive growth of 0.6% in the prior period. Together with enhancements to the operations team, we expect these initiatives to improve franchise partner store economics and support sustainable sales growth. At Brumby's, our focus is strengthening franchise partner engagement, improving store economics and creating a more attractive model for future network growth. We are improving communication and operational support with greater focus on store sales, performance and supply chain management. At the same time, clearer brand standards and more consistent marketing are intended to strengthen execution and the customer experience across the network. Importantly, we are simplifying the operational model to improve returns and make the franchise opportunity accessible to a broader pool of prospective franchise partners. Early FY '27 trading is encouraging with same-store sales growth of 0.9% over the first 8 weeks compared with a decline of 0.8% in the prior comparative period. This provides an early indication that the brand is moving in the right direction while the broader improvement program continues. On to Beefy's Pies. Beefy's delivered a strong top line growth in FY '26 with network sales increasing 12% and underlying revenue rising 11% to $23.5 million. However, this growth did not fully translate into earnings with underlying EBITDA declining 15%. This primarily reflects the performance of recently opened stores in new geographies, which have taken longer than expected to reach required sales and profitability levels. Our priority for Beefy's remains to improve new store performance and ensure future network growth is sustainable and profitable. As part of this approach, the brand has returned to simple value-led marketing focus on reconnecting with core customers and expanding recognition of the brand beyond the Sunshine Coast. These initiatives are producing encouraging results already. The Pi Day promotion saw a 17% increase in sales compared to the same time last year, while the State of Origin-based Steak vs Steak fundraiser delivered a 57% increase in pies sold. Together with continued digital expansion and operating improvements, our focus is on converting Beefy's strong customer demand and network sales growth into improved store level and group profitability. Crust Pizza delivered a strong return to growth in FY '26 with network sales increasing 3.1% and same-store sales increasing 0.3% compared with declines in both measures in the prior year. This improvement reflects additional outlets, new franchise partners and multisite operators combined with stronger customer engagement. Customer count increased 3.2% compared with a decline of 2.7% in the prior comparative period. Our focus is to build further on this stronger base. Crust is concentrating on its core product range and the key sporting and celebration occasions for which the brand is well positioned. Limited time offers will continue to use existing ingredients and familiar flavor profiles, helping to generate consumer interest without adding unnecessary complexity or cost for franchise partners. We are also developing major partnership opportunities intended to broaden awareness and extend the brand's customer reach. Overall, the opportunity is to convert Crust's improving customer engagement and network growth into stronger franchise partner profitability and sustainable growth. Turning to Firehouse Subs. I'm very pleased to note that we achieved a successful Australian launch, providing an encouraging foundation for the next stage of the rollout. The first restaurant opened at Mt Gravatt in June and grand opening day trading was particularly strong with over 750 transactions recorded. Our immediate focus is building the site pipeline with discipline. Two additional Southeast Queensland locations are currently in final stages of lease negotiations and are targeting openings in the second quarter of FY '27. A further location is in the pipeline for December, supporting our target of having 4 Australian restaurants on the ground by the end of calendar 2026. While the rollout remains in its early days, initial performance is encouraging in the context of the longer-term rollout plan, including the target of 15 restaurants by December of next year. We remain committed to investing USD 4 million per year over the next 2 financial years. Our approach will remain disciplined and focused on site selection, repeatable store economics and appropriate returns on capital as the network develops. Our International division returned to outlet growth during FY '26 with the network increasing from 528 outlets in December to 536 at year-end. This growth included additional Gloria Jean's locations across Turkiye and North Cyprus. We have introduced incentive programs to support further expansion by eligible international franchise partners with 1 market signed and 2 more in progress. The Turkiye roasting and support hub became operational in February and brings supply closer to our international master franchise partners. The new location enables road freight for key markets, reducing freight times and supporting more frequent ordering. Almost 70% of orders are now using road freight. The hub has also provided greater supply chain resilience during recent geopolitical disruption in the region. Overall, international revenue was $11.3 million, which was down 2.1% as the higher franchise-related income was offset by lower coffee sales during the transition to the new supply model and the broader disruption in the market. With the Turkiye Hub operational and the international network growing again, our priority now is to convert the improved supply platform into stronger service, further outlet growth and sustainable earnings. On the organization structure, we implemented the new brand-aligned operating model at the end of FY '26, bringing accountability and decision-making closer to individual brands and franchise partners. Each core brand is now led by an Executive General Manager, accountable for performance and responsible for coordinating operations, marketing, network development and supply chain support. Central functions continue to provide specialist expertise and leverage group scale. The new structure provides clearer ownership of brand performance, more direct access to decision-makers and faster resolution of store level issues. Taken together, these changes are focused on improving franchise partner outcomes. So with the new model implemented and key transformation program initiatives complete, the Board has resumed the process to appoint a CEO to lead RFG's next phase of execution and growth. I will continue as Executive Chairman while this process is undertaken. I'll now hand over to Ryan to take you through the FY '26 financial results in more detail.

Thank you, Peter. Turning to the group's profit and loss performance for FY '26. Underlying revenue was $99.6 million, down 3% on the year. This reflected higher company store revenue from Beefy's and CIBO being offset by lower franchise-related income and lower coffee revenue, together with also cycling of $3.3 million in insurance proceeds and deferred franchise income that was recognized in FY '25. Gross profit declined to $64.3 million as coffee margins were affected by higher green bean costs and our decision to delay domestic wholesale price increases for the first 8 months of the financial year as we supported our franchise partners. Pricing was adjusted in March with a greater benefit expected in financial year 2027 as the input prices stabilize. Whilst at the top line, our expenses increased, reflective of higher company store costs and lower lease impairment benefits. If we exclude those 2 items, our expenses were actually $3.5 million lower, which were inclusive of the payroll savings that came out of the cost rationalization program. Underlying EBITDA, as we've mentioned, came in at $20.3 million within the guidance range provided in February. And importantly, we were pleased to see second half EBITDA increased 20.9% to $11.1 million as we started to see the transformation benefits emerge. Underlying NPAT was at $7.8 million, and statutory NPAT improved to $1.1 million off the back of a loss of $14.9 million in financial year 2025. The reconciliation between our underlying and statutory results is provided both on the following slide and with our detailed reconciliations in the appendix. Moving to Slide 20. This slide reconciles our statutory EBITDA of $14.9 million to our underlying EBITDA of $20.3 million. The principal adjustments relate to our market fund timing, the company store strategic reset, investment in Firehouse Subs, the International supply hub and the transformation program. These investments and restructuring actions are intended to reduce recurring costs, improve future cash generation and establish new growth platforms. Statutory NPAT, as we noted, materially improved to $1.1 million compared with a $14.9 million loss in FY '25. Moving to Slide 21 and talking about our Cafe, Coffee, and Bakery segment. Our Cafe, Coffee, and Bakery segment accounts for approximately 70% of domestic network sales with the financial year 2026 performance affected by the reduction in outlet numbers. Network sales were $349 million, down 4.9%, while same-store sales declined a more moderate 1.3%. The network ended the period with 406 outlets, which was 21 lower than December, largely reflecting the closure of lower-performing company-owned and noncore locations. Pleasingly, 3 new outlets were opened during the period, including 1 Donut King and 2 Gloria Jean's outlets. Despite lower customer count, our average weekly sales in this segment increased 2% and average transaction value increased 3.8%, setting the segment up for improved performance moving forward. Underlying revenue was $88.3 million, and underlying EBITDA was $16.1 million. Earnings were affected by the lower network sales, our reduced coffee margins and the delayed commissioning of the Turkiye Hub. Domestic wholesale coffee pricing, as we've noted, was adjusted in March, and we've also seen green bean costs stabilize during the second half, which provide a better margin platform as we enter financial year 2027. Moving to QSR. We were very pleased to see QSR return to growth in FY '26. Network sales increased 1.6% to $141 million and same-store sales increased 0.7%. The improvement was supported by customer count growth of 1.5%, the easing of aggressive competitor discounting in the pizza segment and the opening of 4 new Crust stores during the year. Average weekly sales and average transaction value also increased, providing further evidence of improving network health. Underlying revenue was $11.3 million, down 4.5%, reflecting lower franchise-related income. However, the benefit of cost reduction initiatives more than offset that decline with underlying EBITDA increasing 3.1% to $4.1 million. With sales and earnings back in growth, our QSR business enters FY '27 from a stronger base. Moving to Slide 23 and the cash flow. Operating cash flow was $9.3 million for financial year 2026, with the full year decline primarily reflecting first half headwinds. Importantly and pleasingly, cash generation improved strongly in the second half. Operating cash flow increased to $7.4 million compared with $1.9 million in the first half and $6.6 million in the prior comparative period. The second half result benefited from improved collections and supply payment timing, notwithstanding that $1.4 million was paid in relation to one-off redundancy payments associated with the transformation program. CapEx reduced to $2.6 million as we prioritize transformation initiatives and lease payments declined by $1.6 million as the company store strategic reset progressed. The group drew down a further $7.5 million in the second half as part of the new debt facility to fund strategic priorities and ended FY '26 with a total cash balance of $24.2 million, including unrestricted cash of $14.4 million. The second half improvement provides a stronger cash generation base entering financial year 2027 with further benefits expected from transformation savings and reduced company store cash outflows. On Slide 24, we have the balance sheet. The balance sheet remains stable following the February refinancing. We hold $14.4 million of unrestricted cash with net debt of $20.68 million (sic) [ $26.8 million ], which reflects our borrowings of $41.2 million. Working capital reduced by $3.7 million across the year, supported by improved receivables recovery, whilst our inventory increased following the commissioning of the International supply hub. Lease-related assets and liabilities declined as the company store strategic reset progressed. The new $41.2 million debt facility extends to August 2027. And as a result, the debt has been reclassified as a noncurrent liability. The group remained compliant with all financial covenants throughout the period and the refinancing provides greater funding certainty as we complete the transformation program and invest selectively in future growth. On to Slide 25, we're talking about our strategic growth funding. The February refinancing, as we noted, provides the funding stability and liquidity required to execute our strategic priorities. Capital allocation remains disciplined with our priorities, improving our core brand network sales and franchise partner performance, building on the second half cash flow improvements and maintaining appropriate balance sheet strength and liquidity. The facility also supports the continued Firehouse Subs rollout in Southeast Queensland and the development of the International supply hub as a platform for international growth. With that, I will now hand back to Peter.

Thank you, Ryan. And just on Slide 26, a few comments on the outlook and trading for the first 8 weeks of FY '27. So the first 8 weeks of FY '27 continue to reflect challenging consumer conditions. Core brand network sales were down 2.6%, again, influenced by the smaller outlet base, while same-store sales were slightly down 0.4% as the challenging current macroeconomic conditions are mitigated to some extent by the rollout of our revised marketing initiatives. As I previously noted, Donut King and Brumby's are, however, showing positive momentum with several identified marketing initiatives set to launch across brands shortly. We expect franchise partner economics to benefit progressively from improved operational processes and the back-to-basics marketing approach. At group level, the March wholesale coffee price increase and improved green bean procurement are expected to support gross margins, while cost initiatives are targeted to deliver savings of $5 million to $7 million in the full year of FY '27. Cash flow is expected to benefit from the stronger second half exit rate and further reductions in company store cash outflows. Firehouse Subs remains an important growth opportunity with 3 additional restaurants targeted by December of this year and 15 restaurants in total targeted by December of next year. Overall, RFG enters FY '27 with a simpler operating model and improved cost base and clear opportunities to build on the progress achieved during the second half. Now before opening for questions, I would like to just take an opportunity to thank our franchise partners and team members for their contributions during a year of significant change. While FY '26 was challenging, RFG delivered underlying EBITDA within guidance, substantially completed the transformation program and generated strong improvements in second half earnings and cash flow. We entered FY '27 with a simpler operating model, a more focused portfolio and clear opportunities across our core brands, Firehouse Subs and our international operations. Our priority, to repeat, is converting this stronger platform into improved franchise partner economics, sustainable earnings growth and stronger cash generation. Thank you all for your continued support, and we will now open the line for questions.

Just to add to Peter's comment, in terms of asking a question, if you'd like to add the question to the chat within the forum here, we will then read that question out and answer.

We have a question from Larry Gandler. Can you indicate what sort of P&L investment will be required for Firehouse in FY '27?

I'm happy to take that one, if you like. So Larry, for FY '27, the -- given that Firehouse will still be in its initial rollout phase, we won't be including that in our underlying earnings. We do expect, as we've noted previously, that we will be required to invest $4 million in capital contributions throughout the next 2 years to continue with that rollout. The P&L, though, will be restricted to our noncore earnings for that period as we roll the stores out.

Question from James Middleton. Peter, when I listen to some of the transformation activities, why were some of these changes not able to be made in earlier years? I guess the -- there are multiple reasons for that. I think we saw ourselves in 2023 as entering out of restructuring and into growth. We structured the company and the people in it to pursue growth opportunities. Probably one of the costs of doing that was that we took our eye off the ball of our core business, which is looking after our existing franchises and many of the activities undertaken in the last 6 months or so are designed to repair the damage that was caused by that change of priorities and to reinforce that as our #1 priority.

We've just had a follow-up question from Larry on that first question around Firehouse. It's just asked if we can indicate the magnitude on the P&L. Larry, I think the best way to think about that is in our FY '26 results and in the bridge from statutory to underlying, we noted $1.8 million was incurred in relation to the setup of Firehouse. We would expect that to improve in FY '27 as we roll the stores out. The -- I think the important thing that we note is, look, our -- we've been very encouraged by the trading of our store at Mt Gravatt in its first 8 weeks of operation. And so we expect to see that result improve on what happened in FY '26.

We have a question from Ken Wagner. How significant was the impact of the Turkiye Hub on the reduction in international sales? I guess it wasn't -- it was the changeover from a very inefficient hub that we had in Dubai and a period during which product was shipped directly from Australia while the Turkiye Hub was put in place, and it was responsible for most of that decline in revenue that we referred to earlier, that mix up. When you ship product from here by ship and particularly in the aftermath of the Iran situation, it takes quite a long time to reach its destination. I think it would be regarded as a blip, and it's certainly a very large part of our coffee sales come from a region within driving distance of Turkiye. And we expect that now that it is implemented, those problems won't recur. And another one from Larry. How significant will be the store closures in FY '27, meaning previous full year effect plus new closures? So I guess the broad rule of thumb is for each store that closes, the headline number is you'll probably lose $10,000 a week of network sales, which means that RFG will lose its franchise service fee on that. It's frequently not that simple, though, because the stores that close tend to go through a period of financial decline during which we typically provide support of one kind or another, either by giving them free coffee, giving them subsidies on their rent, giving them holidays from their fee paying. So the P&L effect is nowhere near as great as the sales effect typically from the closure of low-performing stores. But the broad rule of thumb is that you'll lose around $10,000 a year -- sorry, a week for every store that isn't there -- that was there last year.

The next question that's come through is, is Brumby's off the agenda for disposal?

The answer to that is yes, it is. The process was tested fairly extensively, the appetite of the market for sale. Brumby's, despite only being a 60-store network, is quite a significant profit contributor. And therefore, in order to sell it, you would have to sell it at a multiple of those earnings that didn't dilute the overall position of the company, and we didn't get offers in that region. We're working on a number of new strategies to start that network growing again. Its growth historically has been constrained by its difficulty in finding bakers, which is a declining trade, as you know. We're working on models that are less reliant on bakers, such as having a central baking facility delivering to multiple stores using frozen and par-baked bread to minimize that reliance. We have aspirations that this network will start growing again quite strongly in the next 3 years.

Next question from Ken Wagner. How many CIBO stores are left? And what are your plans for them?

It's a good question. We have 4 company stores and I think 9 trading franchise stores. We are in discussion with a number of parties, including some of the CIBO franchisees about selling the remaining stores. That strategy, which, as you know, was based on converting the stores into Gloria Jean's outlets, was a strategy that didn't go down well with the network or indeed with both political parties in the South Australian parliament. And we think that probably the best outcome for that is that it is divested.

That's all the questions we've had come through for the moment. We would just give a minute or 2 just to see if anything further comes through.

That appears to be the end of the questions, and thank you, everyone, for your attendance on this webinar, and we shall see many of you on our road trip in a couple of weeks' time. Thanks again.

Thank you all.