Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1472871
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 JULY 2022 NEWS Rural Development Programme for Malta 2014-2020 Part financed by the European Union Co-financing Rate: 75% European Union; 25% Government of Malta The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Europe investing in rural areas 10 th July 2022 European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 2014-2020 ANNOUNCEMENT The Director General, Funds and Programmes Division, within the Parliamentary Secretariat for European Funds informs that calls for the following measures under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, have been re-issued. Applications opened on Monday 20 th June 2022 and will close on Friday, 30 th September 2022 at noon: Measure Number Title of Measure 4.1 Support for investments in agricultural holdings 6.1 Business start-up aid for young farmers 6.4 Support for investments in creation and development of non-agricultural activities Additional calls under some or all of these measures may be made available after the 30 th September 2022. The MA will notify accordingly through its website www.eufunds.gov.mt. Further details, on new calls and the application process can be found on the website of the Managing Authority www.eufunds.gov.mt. For more information, the Managing Authority can be contacted on rdd.mefl@gov.mt or 2555 2634. MATTHEW VELLA THE Maltese nine-outlet fran- chise of McDonald's experi- enced by far the greatest av- erage drop in revenue during the COVID pandemic, when compared to other restaurants operated by Maltese franchisee Premier Capital. Premier Capital, owned by Melo Hili's Hili Ventures, is en- gaged in the operations of Mc- Donald's restaurants in Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Mal- ta and Romania. But in 2020, the Maltese net- work of restaurants was im- pacted with a 15% average drop in revenues, falling from €26.3 million to €22.2 million, a fi- nancial analysis summary for 2022 reveals. Revenues picked up instantly back to previous levels in 2021, to €26.4 million and are project to rise to €31 million this year. While it costs Premier Cap- ital an average of €1.3 million to open every new McDonald's outlet, a Maltese restaurant delivers an average revenue of €3.5 million. Premier Capital's largest net- work of McDonald's restau- rants is in Romania, with 96 out of a projected 175 this year. Total forecast revenues in Ro- mania will be €278 million, an average of €2.9 million per res- taurant – far lower than that in Malta. Altogether, Premier Capital's McDonald's outlets are expect- ed to generate over €500 million in revenue in 2022, with pre-tax profits of just over €47 million. Premier Capital said that de- spite the challenging condi- tions brought about by the pan- demic, drive-thru and delivery options McDrive and McDeliv- ery assisted the group to exceed projections. "As the pandemic situation edges closer to normality, the Group has now largely resumed regular operating patterns," Premier Capital said, which insisted there had been no COVID-19 related job losses throughout 2021, as the group preserved its staff complement by tapping national wage sup- port programmes. Indeed, total revenues jumped back from €318 million in 2020 to €405 million in 2021, pre- tax profits climbing from €25.9 million to €45.3 million. The group said it was mon- itoring the effects of the war in Ukraine on its operations in neighbouring countries Roma- nia and the Baltics. "Inflation- ary pressures, supply chain dis- ruption and heightened utility costs are presently being expe- rienced by certain operations within the Group. It is still challenging however, to quan- tify and differentiate what ex- tent of such pressures emanate from the unrest in Ukraine and the concurrent pandemic relat- ed events, but the compounded effect on the footprint of man- aged restaurants is potentially material." In 2021, the group increased its total number of restaurants to 166, compared to 159 in the prior year. Of these restaurants, 92 are operated in Romania, 40 in the Baltics – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – 25 in Greece, and nine in Malta. The group plans to invest over €28 million in its restaurant footprint during the course of 2022, half of which for new res- taurant openings, the rest tar- geted to restaurant capital ex- penditure and digital upgrades. Investment in Malta will ac- count for 7%. Despite the COVID pandem- ic, the group increased its foot- print by 20 restaurants since 2019, investing €31.6m on new stores and €2.5m on the remod- elling of old stores. 16 exist- ing restaurants were upgraded to accommodate McDonald's newest service and digital plat- forms, allowing for the roll-out of table service and self-order- ing kiosks. By the end of 2021, a total of 156 restaurants had deployed McDelivery. Golden arches: Maltese franchisee forecasts half-billion in revenues