the Outsider - PSE Points to Ponder

  In the Philippines’ crowded casual-dining market, Figaro’s smaller pizza empire looked sharper than Shakey’s larger machine In the restaurant trade, size is meant to confer advantages. Bigger chains buy cheaper cheese, bargain harder with landlords, and spread marketing pesos across more stores. Yet the first quarter of 2026 offered a reminder that scale is not the same as momentum. In the latest round of the Philippines’ pizza wars, Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures , listed as PIZZA , remained the heavyweight. It booked ₱4.0bn in revenue and ₱133.8m in net income for January to March 2026. But the nimble challenger, Figaro Culinary Group , or FCG , looked more efficient: it grew revenue faster, expanded gross profit more strongly, and delivered much fatter margins. FCG’s revenue rose 14.9% year on year to ₱1.50bn , while PIZZA’s revenue rose about 13% to ₱4.00bn . The contrast is striking because both companies are chasing similar appetites. PIZZA owns a portfolio built around S...

For years, Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc. looked like the sort of consumer company income investors could warm to: familiar brands, expanding outlets, improving scale, and a dividend that had recovered from pandemic-era caution. The company paid ₱0.10 per share in 2023 , then doubled the payout to ₱0.20 per share in 2024 , and maintained that level in 2025 . Its own filing lists the 2025 cash dividend at ₱0.20 per share , totaling about ₱336.8m in cash distributions.  Yet the latest quarterly figures suggest that shareholders hoping for another increase may be getting ahead of themselves. Indeed, a more uncomfortable possibility has entered the conversation: Shakey’s may not merely refrain from raising its dividend; it may decide that preserving cash is the more prudent course. The reason is simple. A large bill is coming due. At the heart of the matter is the company’s BDO loan , with an outstanding balance of around ₱3.55bn as of March 31, 2026. The loan has been reclassified...