Restaurant chain operator Wowprime Corp., which owns the Wang Steak, Tasty and Tokiya brands, announced on Monday it would give out year-end bonuses to its employees equivalent to 1.5 months' salary as the local food and beverage industry recovers from the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.
In a late-night live-streaming event featuring Wowprime Chairman Chen Cheng-hui (???), Vice Chairman Li Sen-pin (???), and other executives organized for the company's 9,300 employees in Taiwan, Chen said Wowprime would pay an extra 1.5 months' salary to the staff as their year-end bonuses.
Wowprime's year-end bonuses this year will be the highest since the company launched an initial public offering (IPO) on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in 2012, and also surpass the average bonus which is equivalent to 0.85 months' wages in the local lodging and food/beverage industry.
The company is expected to pay more than NT$200 million (US$6.52 million) in year-end bonuses to its employees.
In addition to the bonus payment, Wowprime also announced it would spend NT$20 million to hold five "weiya" or year-end dinners for its employees plus an incentive tour later this month.
"As long as the company stays profitable, we will share the benefits with all of our partners," Chen said in the live stream.
In the third quarter of this year, Wowprime raked in NT$3.77 in earnings per share, improving from a loss per share of NT$1.45 a year earlier. In the first nine months of the year, the restaurant chain operator posted NT$2.41 in EPS, compared with NT$2.43 in loss per share one year earlier.
Wowprime enjoyed a year-on-year increase of 14.01 percent in sales generated in Taiwan to hit NT$1.22 billion in November, marking the fifth-straight month of growth, while its revenue generated in the China market plunged by 32.95 percent from a year earlier to NT$320 million last month in the wake of strict COVID-19 lockdowns.
As a result, Wowprime's consolidated sales for November fell by 0.62 percent from a year earlier to NT$1.54 billion. In the first 11 months of this year, the company posted NT$16.53 billion in consolidated sales, up 7.95 percent from a year earlier.
With China easing its COVID-19 restrictions, Wowprime said it had faith that its operations in the mainland market would improve accordingly.
Last month, Wowprime said it would raise its starting monthly salary for employees to NT$33,000 from next year, with the pay hike representing an increase ranging from 3 percent to 7.5 percent across the group's various chains.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel