Westlife Foodworld, operator of McDonald’s restaurants in western and southern India, reported 10.1% same-store sales growth for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2026, while retaining its 2% to 4% price-increase guidance amid higher operating costs.
Revenue reached ₹7.47 billion, up 16% year over year. Operating EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, climbed 29.1% year over year to ₹980.5 million. Its margin was 13.1%, compared with 11.8% a year earlier. Westlife still recorded a ₹20.4 million loss after tax, versus a profit of ₹277.1 million in the same period a year ago.
Guest counts increased by double digits in each month of the quarter, the company said. Westlife’s investor presentation identified its ₹99 everyday meal as the leading contributor to the rise in guest counts.
On an Oct. 23 earnings call, Westlife Foodworld President and CEO Akshay Jatia reaffirmed guidance for year-over-year price increases of 2% to 4%. He said pricing could offset about half of inflation-related pressure, alongside cost-saving initiatives. Managing Director Saurabh Kalra put the pressure at about 190 basis points across cost lines.
Westlife’s presentation cited higher commodity and utility costs, including pressure from oil and chicken, as well as increased minimum wages in Karnataka. The company’s cost estimate is separate from India’s consumer inflation measures.
The provisional combined consumer-price inflation rate was 5.54% year over year in September 2026, up from 4.83% in August 2026. Food inflation reached 7.74%, compared with 5.97% the prior month, according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. Those national figures measure consumer prices, while Westlife’s 190-basis-point estimate covers its own costs.
Westlife opened 11 restaurants and shut another during the quarter, ending September 2026 with 492 restaurants across 80 cities. The ministry scheduled its October CPI release for Nov. 12, 2026, or the next working day if that date is a holiday.
