Restaurant profits fell by 12% last year, for the first time since the pandemic, and the number of active restaurants also recorded the lowest annual growth (+2%), but the number of employees in restaurants reached a record level, up by 1%, according to an analysis by online booking platform Bookingham.

The analysis shows that just over 27,000 restaurants, bars, catering and other food services were listed as active in Romania last year. The evolution from 2022 to 2023 shows the lowest annual increase in the number of active companies recorded since 2008, of 2% (from 26,611 in 2022 to 27,045 active companies in 2023), reads a press release sent to AGERPRES on Tuesday.

While growth of over 11% was registered after the pandemic, even 12% from year to year, 2023 proved to be a tougher year for the HoReCa industry, Bookingham maintains.

„In my opinion, such a slow rise in the number of active restaurants in 2023 has two reasons and both of them are related to the legislative factor: legislative uncertainty and the lack of predictability of clear rules for the operation of the hospitality industry,” said Cristian Cristea, HoReCa consultant and general manager Hostalion Business School, quoted in the press release.

Profits evolved steadily until the pandemic year, when they suddenly dropped by 40% – a difference of more than EUR 200 million compared to 2019. An analysis conducted in 2021 showed that the net profit of HoReCa firms fell by 47% in that period.

However, with the lifting of the restrictions, sales in restaurants, bars and cafes increased significantly in 2021 – by 57% compared to the previous year, with Romania recording the most significant increase in the European Union. 2023 is the first year after the pandemic when restaurant profits fell again, by 12% compared to 2022.

„Looking at the data above, we look at three things that happened in 2023: the VAT increase on certain raw materials, the minimum wage increase and the change in the tax on sweet drinks. All these changes had an impact ranging between 3-5% on restaurants; an impact that is directly visible in profitability,” says Cristian Cristea.

In the top of the most profitable cities in Romania, Bucharest led in 2023, both in the number of active restaurants (3,309), as well as in terms of profit (about EUR 225 million) and number of employees (34,427).

Cluj-Napoca ranked 2nd, with a profit almost 7 times lower than the capital – about EUR 33.5 million, followed by Constanta with profits of about EUR 33.2 million in 2023, Iasi (about EUR 21.4 million), and Timisoara (about EUR 21.2 million).

Bookingham has collected the data of the active firms with CAEN code 56XX, which have filed their balance sheet on the List of Firms until July 8, 2024. This CAEN code covers restaurants, bars, catering and other food services. No data on hotels were included in the analysis.

AGERPRES