Yoshinoya Bracing for 9-B.-Yen Annual Net Loss

Tokyo, July 28 (Jiji Press)--Japanese restaurant group Yoshinoya Holdings Co. <9861> said Tuesday it expects to incur a consolidated net loss of 9 billion yen in the year ending in February 2021 due to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Yoshinoya, which owns a "gyudon" beef-on-rice bowl restaurant chain, is struggling with a decrease in customers eating at stores amid the pandemic.

The company plans to close up to 150 outlets globally, or 5 pct of the total of its some 3,300 stores, while halting new store launches this business year in principle.

"The effects of the new coronavirus are expected to linger for a long time," Yoshinoya President Yasutaka Kawamura told a press conference.

The company will reduce costs and improve takeout products "to make it profitable even if sales decrease," Kawamura said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]