Has Jubilant’s declining sale pushed Ajay Kaul to stepdown?

Ajay Kaul, Chief Executive Officer and whole time Director of Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd (JFL) has resigned from the his position, the company said in a BSE filing on Monday.

"Kaul has stepped down to evaluate and pursue opportunities outside the Jubilant Bhartia group," said the statement announcing Kaul’s resignation.

Kaul will continue in his current role till March 2017, the statement added. For the April-June quarter, Jubilant FoodWorks, the exclusive franchisee for Domino's and doughnut chain Dunkin' Donuts, announced a 3.2 per cent year-on-year drop in same-store sales growth (SSG) - the lowest SSG over the past seven quarters.

The company's operating profit was down 14 per cent, while net profit declined 31 per cent to Rs 19 crore in the June quarter.

"A constrained consumption environment had an effect on overall performance in the first quarter of 2016-17. Since then, new products have played an important role in driving sales. We hope the second quarter will see positive same store growth," JFL chairman Shyam Bhartia said in a statement announcing the first quarter earnings on September 3.