Coffee Day Enterprises (CDEL), which owns the Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) chain, has cut its store count by 3% in the December quarter (Q3FY25) versus last year, as it seeks to manage its debt obligations, its latest financial statements show. At its peak in FY19, CCD operated 1,752 stores. It now has 439 stores (Q3) from 454 stores last year.
At the end of Q3 (of FY25), the Coffee Day group had a debt of Rs 1,273 crore, which is lower than the Rs 1,289 crore it had reported at the end of the March quarter (Q4) of FY24. Over nearly six years, the group has reduced its debt by 82.35%, data from its financial statements show.
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While CCD stores have been slashed to manage debt and other expenses, the number of vending machines has grown by nearly 6% in a year to 55,667 at the end of Q3. The latest addition is just 5% short of CCD’s peaking vending machine count of 58,697 in FY20.
Executives at the company were not immediately available for comment on its business strategy or plans.
But sources in the know say that the vending machine business is easier to manage versus cafes or coffee outlets as the machines are installed in offices, retail spaces, malls and multiplexes, requiring limited space and maintenance.
In 2020, rival Tata Consumer had sought to acquire CCD’s vending machine business, but had aborted the attempt over valuation concerns. Last year (FY24), Tata Consumer began its own vending machine operations, which it is looking to double to about 4,000 by the end of the current fiscal.
Shares of CDEL, meanwhile, jumped 20% on Monday to hit its upper circuit limit following news of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) overturning insolvency proceedings against it. CDEL closed trade at Rs 25.65 apiece on the BSE on Monday, with nearly 1.84 million shares exchanging hands on the counter.
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The NCLAT had set aside the insolvency proceedings against the firm initiated by IDBI Trusteeship Services for a default of Rs 228.45 crore. This is the second time the group has been given relief against legal proceedings undertaken by lenders.
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