Tam Jai International Revenue Nears RMB 2 Billion as Hong Kong Rice-Noodle Leader Pushes Overseas

This is an English adaptation of a FoodBud historical article originally published on May 15, 2022.

On May 16, Tam Jai International, Hong Kong’s largest mixian rice-noodle chain operator, released annual results for the year ended March 31. Revenue reached HK$2.28 billion, or about RMB 1.97 billion, up 26.8% year on year. Net profit was HK$200 million, or about RMB 170 million, down 29.5%; adjusted net profit was HK$170 million, or about RMB 140 million, up 17.8%.

Tam Jai International listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in October 2021. It operates two rice-noodle brands, TamJai and SamGor. As of March 31, TamJai had 89 stores and SamGor had 86, for a combined network of 175 stores. TamJai had entered mainland China, while SamGor had expanded into Japan and Singapore.

Store Growth

Between April 2021 and March 2022, Tam Jai International opened 29 stores:

• 19 in Hong Kong
• 8 TamJai stores in mainland China, including 6 in Shenzhen and 2 in Guangzhou
• 1 SamGor store in Singapore
• 1 SamGor store in Japan

The company expected SamGor to open another 2 stores in Japan in the second quarter of the year, from April to June.

Market Performance

From April to December 2021, as pandemic conditions eased, Tam Jai International’s performance rebounded quickly. Hong Kong store revenue returned to pre-pandemic levels. In the first quarter of 2022, from January to March, revenue declined again amid Hong Kong’s fifth COVID-19 wave.

In Singapore, the business began to rebound significantly from November 2021, mainly as the government relaxed policies and moved toward a strategy of living with COVID-19. Mainland China was more difficult, with new-store plans disrupted.

For the year ended March 31, revenue by market was:

• Hong Kong: HK$2.22 billion, up 24.6% year on year
• Singapore: HK$25.7 million, up 135.1%
• Mainland China: HK$27.78 million
• Japan: HK$50,000, representing one day of data from a newly opened store

Dine-in accounted for 51.7% of revenue, while takeaway and delivery accounted for 48.3%.

Unit Economics and Operations

Average ticket size was HK$59.8 overall. By market, average ticket size was:

• Hong Kong: HK$59.7
• Mainland China: HK$58.3
• Singapore: HK$83
• Japan: HK$96

Average daily bowls sold per seat, calculated by store seating capacity, were 6.4 in Hong Kong, 4.4 in mainland China, 2.8 in Singapore and 7.7 in Japan.

Inventory turnover days improved from 11.8 days in the prior year to 10.4 days in the latest year.

Parent Company Context

Tam Jai International’s controlling shareholder, Japan’s Toridoll, also released its latest annual results. Toridoll’s main brand is Marugame Seimen, focused on udon noodles, and Tam Jai International sits within Toridoll’s overseas business division.

As of March 31, Toridoll had 1,720 stores globally. In fiscal 2022, covering April 2021 to March 2022, Toridoll’s full-year revenue was about RMB 8 billion, up 13.8% year on year, and net profit was about RMB 480 million.

Note: IPO references and forward store-opening expectations are historical figures from the 2022 source article.