73% of restaurants are pessimistic as new wave threatens HK: Deliveroo

Only 26% are confident on the revenue on dine-in operations in the CNY.

Some 73% of restaurants in Hong Kong are pessimistic about the economy and the food and beverage (F&B) industry in the first quarter of the year as threats of a new COVID-19 wave linger, Deliveroo reported.

This is up from 35% and 33% of restaurants that are less optimistic about the economy and the F&B industry, when asked about their expectations last quarter.

Only 26% of the restaurants expressed confidence in the revenue on dine-in business during the Chinese New Year celebration. The overall confidence also dropped more than 40% to 27% from 67%, according to the Restaurant Confidence Index.

"The permissive prognosis we're seeing for the coming quarter makes us reflect and re-evaluate. No one wants to start the new year with dining-in curfews or seating limitations since we know they'll be a further setback for the food and beverage business, an industry that was striving hard to recover last year,” Andrew Hui, general manager of Deliveroo Hong Kong, said.

In terms of performance, 38% of restaurants saw a slight profit increase, only 3% recorded a significant increase; whilst 24% reported their profit was unchanged in the fourth quarter.

Expenses have also slightly increased with 44% and 68% of restaurants reporting increases in rental and labour cost. Meanwihile, 100% of the restaurants surveyed registered increases in operating costs, such as ingredients and cleaning products.