Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the AmRest Q3 2025 results call. My name is Breaker, and I will be coordinating your call today. During the presentation, you can register to ask a question by pressing Star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you change your mind, please press Star followed by two. For those of you who have joined online, you can register a written question in the Q&A box. I would now like to hand you over to your host, Łukasz Wachełko, to begin, so please go ahead, Łukasz.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Łukasz Vachelko. I am representing WOOD & Company, and I have again the pleasure of moderating the call with management of AmRest to present you the results of the third quarter of this year. The company is being represented by CFO, Mr. Eduardo Zamarripa, and IR and Strategic Director, Mr. Santiago Aguilera. Guys, the mic is yours.
Thank you, Łukasz. Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us in today's third quarter 2025 AmRest result presentation. It is my pleasure to share with you an update of AmRest's situation at the end of the quarter. During the third quarter of the year, despite ongoing trade tensions and geopolitical uncertainty, both global and European economies showed resilience, though Europe lagged the global average. Across Western Europe, activity stayed mute. Growth was modest, held by public investment and easier financial conditions, but weighted down by weak exports and cautious consumer spending. Inflation moved closer to the ECB 2% target, allowing monetary policy to stabilize after an earlier rate cut. However, disposable income growth remained limited due to past fiscal tightening and high living costs, keeping consumers' confidence fragile. In Eastern Europe, growth slowed sharply versus the previous quarter.
Fiscal consolidation, like VAT hikes and subsidy costs, hit household consumption, while inflation stayed above target in many countries, eroding real incomes. In the case of China, its economy held steady at about 4.5% year-on-year growth rate, supported by a manufacturing rebound and targeted fiscal stimulus. Household spending improved slightly thanks to tax rebates and easier credit, but confidence remained soft. With that context, we'll now review our third quarter results, financial performance, and outlook before opening the floor for your questions. Please note that today's remarks may include forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties. Let's start with today's presentation. If we go to slide two, please. As a reminder, AmRest is a leading multi-brand restaurant operator in Europe, with 2,110 restaurants across 22 countries in Europe, the Middle East, and China. We are proud to operate some of the world's most iconic and reputable restaurant brands.
Our portfolio combines global franchise brands—KFC, Starbucks, Pizza Hut, and Burger King—with proprietary concepts such as La Tagliatella, Sushi Shop, Blue Frog, and Bacoa, positioning our businesses across quick service, coffee, fast casual, and casual dining. Every month, our restaurants welcome over 30 million guests, served by more than 44,000 AmRest colleagues, a scale that allows us to deliver consistent value and service across formats and geographies. If we move now to slide three, I'm going to try to summarize the most relevant financial KPIs and events for this quarter. First, we hit a historic sales record of EUR 660.5 million for a third quarter, with a 3.5% increase when excluding the impact of the asset disposed during the year.
In this case, let me remind that we sold our equity stake in SEM business at the end of the first quarter, and as a consequence, we deconsolidated all the assets and liabilities associated with the business since then. The idea behind this transaction has been to internalize and optimize the value generated in the chain management and product quality assurance services. Second, EBITDA reached EUR 111.2 million, reaching a solid margin of 16.8%. The operative profit reached EUR 42.3 million, with a 6.4% margin, while the net profit achieved at EUR 15.8 million. Leverage stood at 2.1 x the low end of our integral target range. Finally, during the quarter, we opened 16 new restaurants and renovated 46 units, continuing our commitment to growth and modernization.
In the following slides, we will go into more depth and detail of these points, but let's start first with what we are doing in our different brands on slide four. The commercial position of our brands plays a crucial role in the value generation of AmRest. Let me start with the KFC, La Tagliatella, and coffee brand in this slide four. At KFC, we continue to deliver bold, locally relevant experiences through dynamic campaigns and seasonal innovations. The California summer campaign brought vibrant offerings, complemented by a strong value proposition. We amplified engagement through high-impact promotions and, for instance, our largest partnership of the year with the Eurobasket during the summer months. In addition, regional highlights included the Street Food Festival in Czechia and Hungary, introducing global flavors like Greek souvlaki and Korean kisaeng. These initiatives strengthened brand image, boosted basket value, and reinforced customer loyalty.
At La Tagliatella, we continue to push culinary boundaries, partnering with Michelin-starred chef Carlos Maldonado to elevate brand perception and attract new audiences. This bold collaboration fused Italian tradition with Maldonado's avant creativity, resulting in four exclusive dishes. The initiative delivered double-digit growth within our historical editions category, positioning La Tagliatella as an innovative leader in the restaurant sector. At Starbucks, we continue to strengthen our coffee leadership while embracing evolving consumer trends. Core coffee growth accelerated with espresso-based beverages, reinforced by our back-to-Starbucks strategy centered on quality and tradition. Seasonal beverage launches continue to drive customer engagement, while growing interest in wellness and personalization is reflected in the strong appeal of matcha-based offerings. Now, let's continue with our brand in slide five. At Sushi Shop, following the strong momentum for our Ubix Cube collaboration during the third quarter, we launched our annual summer recipes edition.
The result resonated strongly with consumers, prompting us to extend the offer into September to maximize engagement. At Blue Frog, we strengthened our bar identity and local relevance through three key initiatives: Refresh Drink Menu, where we introduced higher-quality creative options to elevate the all-day bar experience. Chinese Valentine's Day, with a premium YU set and themed cocktails, created a festive, romantic atmosphere. Third, our City Limited Series, locally inspired dishes and cocktails showcased authenticity and deepened the connection with regional audiences. At Pizza Hut, we strengthened innovation leadership through bold consumer-focused initiatives. Globally, Pizza Hut introduced the Pizza Cheeseburger range, a mashup concept blending classic cheeseburger flavors with Pizza Hut's signature pizza format. This range targeted Gen Z and value-seeking consumers, supported by gaming and delivery partnerships. These campaigns strengthened Pizza Hut's reputation for bold flavor innovation, resonating strongly with consumers.
Finally, in the third quarter, Burger King brought anime culture to life in Poland, Czechia, and Romania with a special Naruto-themed activation. Restaurants offered exclusive meals paired with collectible toys, turning BK into a destination for anime fans and driving engagement, brand affinity, and incremental sales. If we now move to slide six, please, core revenues and comparable bases grew by 3.5% year-on-year, underscoring the strengthening of our portfolio. In addition, we continue to see steady progress in the 12-month trailing average sales per equity store, driven by an optimized channel mix, disciplined pricing strategies, and positive impact in recent renovations. These combinations of per-store productivity and selective expansion reinforce our ability to consistently improve unit economics across the network. As a result, AmRest delivers resilient store-level performance that supports sustainable growth despite the temporary challenges faced in several markets. Moving to slide seven, please.
In the third quarter of the year, digital orders reached 62% of total transactions, a clear testament to accelerating adoption and shifting consumer preferences. This transformation is powered by our omnichannel ecosystem, which integrates proprietary kiosks, mobile apps, web ordering, and third-party aggregators. By leveraging these platforms, we deliver personalized promotions on matched convenience and a seamless experience across every touchpoint. Digital remains a core pillar of our growing strategy, driving both customer engagement and operational efficiency. In summary, our robust digital adoption underscores two things: challenging consumers' behaviors and our commitment to innovation. That speeds up service, improves consistency, and drives ticket growth. In short, digital continues to be a strategic lever for sustainable value creation.
Now moving to slide eight, as we have conveyed in previous calls, our underlying restaurant growth is complemented by strategic adjustments to non-performing businesses made since 2022, which had led to the end of certain commercial agreements or disposal of some businesses during this period. These decisive moves are aimed at sharpening our capital allocation and focusing the portfolio on the most resilient and profitable formats, ensuring that our footprint is configured for sustainable long-term returns. Today, AmRest operates directly or via franchisees a portfolio of 2,110 restaurants across 22 countries and eight brands, following the opening of 16 new restaurants and the closure of 14 during the quarter. With this, Santi, if you can cover the main financial highlights, please.
Thank you, Eduardo. Thank you, everyone, for joining us.
Our objective today is to try to be clear on what is working and transparent about what we are improving in our business. We continue to see healthy sales performance despite temporary macro headwinds in several markets, and this is supported by a balanced brand and market mix as well as a disciplined commercial execution. In this regard, pricing remains critical as we need to balance protecting traffic and brand health while offsetting cost inflation. Digital locations are a structural tailwind. Guests are choosing our apps and aggregators for convenience, speed, and value, and these trends echo across global QSR, where convenience, led by omnichannel ordering, continues to expand. We are progressing and refining offers through a better and wiser usage of data to increase attachment and order value. Second, our operating profitability is resilient, though shy of where we expected a few quarters ago.
This reflects sector-wide wage and input cost dynamics, and in some markets, a more value-sensitive consumer. We are staying agile, tightening cost control, prioritizing high-return initiatives, and using target promotions that reinforce value without diluting the brand. This playbook is consistent with our strategy view of value discipline, operational efficiency, and risk management to protect margins through the cycles. We have delivered an improvement in terms of the operating profit, underpinned by lower impairment charges and a sharper focus on the quality of earnings. That improvement is a function of many small structural gains rather than a single lever. Finally, our balance sheet remains strong. We continue to generate solid cash flow, and capital expenditure is not only well controlled but trending lower, while still leaving us ample flexibility to invest in digital initiatives, operational enhancements, and the most attractive new units opportunities.
All of this is achieved while maintaining prudent leverage and preserving the capacity to navigate uncertainty. With this in mind, let's turn to slide 10, please, for the quarter's financial and operating highlights. Most of this has already been covered by Eduardo, but let me give you a quick recap. Quarterly sales came in just under EUR 661 million, which is a 3.5% increase year-on-year when we exclude changes in the consolidation perimeter. Ten-store sales held steady, with the index close to 100, showing a stable performance across comparable units. EBITDA for the period was a bit over EUR 111 million, giving us a margin of 16.8%. On a non-IFRS basis, this is excluding leases of Feds, EBITDA was EUR 64.8 million, with a margin of 9.7%. Operating profit reached EUR 42.3 million, which represents a margin of 6.4%.
During the quarter, as addressed by Eduardo, we opened 16 new units, and we kept the CapEx below EUR 34 million, reflecting our disciplined approach to capital allocation and focus on high-return opportunities. Finally, as of the end of October, our ten-store sales index remains around the 100 level. Moving to slide 11, please. Our group delivered a record third-quarter revenues of EUR 661 million. This is slightly up from last year, about 0.2%. If you adjust for businesses with this consolidated area, growth came in at 3.5%. I think that it is important to recognize the context. The quarter was not without challenges. Consumer confidence stayed weak, and cost of living pressures continued to squeeze disposable income. That means less discretionary spending in restaurants, especially towards the end of the summer. Here is the positive. We see these conditions as an opportunity to strengthen long-term loyalty.
We are focused on giving customers what they want: great flavors at attractive price points, smart bundles, and value-driven offers. We are using our digital platforms to personalize promotions and to make the experience as convenient as possible. One last note on comparisons. Last year, Q3 numbers included EUR 9.3 million of extraordinary income from refunds, which boosted revenues and profitability. Turning now into slide 12, please, we will focus on EBITDA performance for the third quarter. EBITDA came in at EUR 111 million, with margins holding firm around 17%. This demonstrates our ability to maintain healthy profitability in a dynamic market environment. The bridge of this slide shows how we have protected unit economics through effective labor management and productivity initiatives. These actions have helped us to offset inflationary pressures and competitive challenges, keeping operational efficiency strong.
In the case of the operating profit for the quarter, we delivered EUR 42 million, representing a margin of 6.4%. This is a decline of 2.7 percentage points compared to last year. Looking at the first nine months of the year, cumulative EBITDA reached over EUR 300 million, with a margin of 15.6%. Operating profit for the same period totaled almost EUR 90 million, that corresponds to a margin of 4.7%, which is an improvement of 0.3 percentage points versus last year. Moving now to slide 13, please. I would like to highlight a few important developments in our restaurant portfolio and financial performance in this slide. First, over the past 12 months, our net equity restaurant count grew by 59 units. This reflects our commitment to selective growth in markets and formats with the highest potential.
At the same time, the number of franchise restaurants declined, mainly due to the transfer of the Pizza Hut France business. This move was part of our ongoing strategy to optimize the portfolio and concentrate resources where they can deliver the greatest returns. From a financial perspective, net profit for the quarter was just under EUR 16 million. That is below last year's figure, but remember that last year included some one-off items that I mentioned earlier. Finally, also as I noted before, we continue to see a gradual reduction in terms of CapEx, reinforcing our disciplined approach to capital allocation, and also, I covered that point before. Let's move now, please, to slide 14, which provides a detailed view of our liquidity and leverage position. Our overall risk profile remains broadly unchanged, with our net financial debt now at EUR 503 million.
Importantly, leverage stands at 2.1x , right at the low end of our internal target. Once more, this reflects our disciplined approach to financial management and our commitment to maintaining a strong balance sheet while continuing to invest selectively. At the end of the quarter, we held nearly EUR 145 million in cash, and we have access to an additional EUR 250 million via committed credit lines. All this ensures that our liquidity position remains prudent and efficient, fully aligned with the group's operational and strategic needs. On slide 15, you can find an overview of our financial debt structure and also the maturity profile. As you can see, there have not been significant changes compared to the previous quarters. Our funding remains stable and well-balanced, with the vast majority of our debt denominated in euros. The maturity schedule is well-layered, with a clear long-term orientation.
If we move now to slide 16, we can find the breakdown of revenue, EBITDA, and the number of restaurants that we have in each geography. This segment comprises businesses in 22 countries where, once again, we have observed very different commercial dynamics. So, as usual, let's start with Central and Eastern Europe, our most significant region, please, that you can find all this information in slides 17 and 18. In the third quarter, the region delivered sales of EUR 421 million, up 7.8% year-on-year and accounting for almost 64% of total group revenue. Looking at individual markets, Hungary posted double-digit growth of 10.3%, while Poland also performed strongly, with almost a 9% increase. Regional EBITDA came at EUR 86 million, with a margin of 20.4% that represents a decline versus last year. But keep in mind that Q3 2024 included more than EUR 8 million in refunds.
Excluding this one-off, the EBITDA grew by 1.3%. Finally, the restaurant portfolio in the region stood at 1,255 units at quarter end, following eight openings and two closures. For the year so far, we have opened 35 restaurants in the region and closed eight. Let's move on to slides 10, 18, and 20, please, to review Western Europe. Sales in this region for the third quarter totaled EUR 219 million, which is a 2.7% decline compared to the same period of last year. Once more, performance varied drastically by different markets. In the case of Germany, we delivered a solid growth of 6%. In Spain, we held steady numbers, very similar to last year, while France continued to face big challenges, with sales down almost by 14% due to weak consumer confidence. EBITDA for the quarter was EUR 32 million, with a margin of 14.7%.
This is broadly in line with last year. The restaurant portfolio closed the quarter with 770 units, following four openings and six closures. For the first nine months of the year, we opened 10 restaurants and closed 24. If we go now to slides 21 and 22, we have our performance in China, where sales for the quarter were EUR 20 million, down 10% in nominal terms. On a constant currency basis, so local figures, the decline was less than half of this figure. This is below 5%. These numbers reflect the impact of a challenging macroeconomic environment and a global slowdown in consumer spending, which weighed on business generation. To address these headwinds, we are accelerating initiatives focused on value-driven menu innovation, strengthening digital engagement, and optimizing operational efficiency. These actions are designed to protect margins and reinforce brand relevance in a more price-sensitive environment.
In terms of profitability, EBITDA for the quarter was EUR 3.5 million, with a margin of 17.4%. Finally, at quarter end, the Blue Frog portfolio comprised 85 restaurants, following four openings and one closure. Year-to-date numbers, we opened seven restaurants and closed nine. With this, back to you, Eduardo.
Thank you, Santiago. To conclude, this quarter reflects both the resilience and the reality of a tougher operating environment. While we achieved record revenues and maintained solid margins, growth was tempered by persistent macroeconomic headwinds, weak consumer confidence, cost of living pressures, and uneven regional performance. We are not satisfied with these results, and we are taking decisive steps to improve. Our priorities include accelerating digital engagement, sharpening value propositions, optimizing operational efficiency, and maintaining strict discipline in capital allocation. These actions are designed to protect profitability and strengthen brand relevance in a more price-sensitive environment.
In light of these dynamics, we are revisiting our revenue and profitability guidance for this year to reflect current market conditions and the timing of our improvement initiatives. This adjustment is a prudent step to ensure transparency and set realistic expectations. In this regard, we expect to close 2025 with a low single-digit growth in sales and with an EBITDA margin slightly above current year-to-date that I remind you is 15.6%. Finally, the number of restaurants to be opened will be below last year's numbers. Thank you for your continued trust and partnership. We remain committed to delivering sustainable value, and we'll now open the floor for your questions. Many thanks to everyone, and with this, we are open to any questions that you may have.
Thank you. We will now begin the question-and-answer session.
If you would like to ask a question, please press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad now. If you change your mind, please press star followed by two. Otherwise, you can type a written question in the Q&A box if you have joined online today. As a reminder, that is star followed by one. Otherwise, you can type your question in the written Q&A box provided. The first question we have from the phone lines comes from Jakub Krawczyk with ODDO BHF. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi. Hopefully, you can hear me. Here's Jakub Krawczyk from ODDO BHF. I have a couple of questions. Question number one, can you please elaborate on these refunds that were the one-off in Q3 2024? I just want to understand what the nature of these refunds are, and is this something which maybe can occur again?
Question number two, France, okay, and Sushi Shop. Can you give us a bit more color on what is the what's going on there? How is the restructuring going? What's the weakness? Why have the measures you have undertaken so far not really materialized in terms of or not translated to an improvement in the numbers? What can be done, and what's the time frame? What are your expectations for this business, for Sushi Shop specifically? I guess a follow-on, how does Sushi Shop perform outside of France? Is it equally weak or not? Thank you.
Okay. Thank you, Jakub, for your questions. Now, related to the first one that you make in terms of the refund, that's something that was a one-time effect, so we should not be having any refund like this in 2025.
Related to the question that you make on Sushi Shop, I would say that we have to split this in several topics. First, we need to consider that the situation on the French market is quite challenging. Consumer confidence is going down, and consumption is also challenging. That is why also we have some plans that we have been working on in the French market, talking about Sushi Shop, but also the other brand that we operate there. Topics that we have been working on. First, in terms of the stores, we have made the deep analysis of the stores that it makes sense to keep, and we have some stores that are big bleeders which do not make sense to continue working with. We are restructuring that and closing the stores that do not make sense to have there.
We have three clusters in terms of stores: the ones that are profitable, the ones that we have adopt stores, the ones that have a potential to increase the performance because of the operations, and the others that, as I said, are heavy losers and make sense to close. That is part of what we are doing or what we are doing over there. Delivery strategy. As you know, Sushi Shop is very highly concentrated in delivery. Negotiation with the delivery companies in order to keep being relevant in the segment and be on the first pages of the applications. At the same time, also strengthen our own delivery channel. The application is something very relevant, creating loyalty programs for our consumers. Also is quite relevant for us.
We are working also in terms of the menus that we are offering, reviewing that, which are the SKUs that have the highest consumption and keeping those and making the analysis of the ones that do not move that much. Making menu efficiencies. Also, innovations, new boxes that we are launching, new rolls that we are launching. Innovation is something that plays a big role in a segment like sushi. One of the facts that we also had in the past and right now in procurement, we are making a lot of advances in terms of the prices of the salmon. As you know, there was a big disruption in the previous year in terms of the price of salmon. Right now, our procurement team is having very good negotiations in those fronts.
Also, renovations of our stores, a design which we have, a warm, welcoming ambience, the colors that are there that invite you to spend a very nice time, and also working on the lighting of the places. It is having a better environment overall in order to invite our consumers to be there, given the reality that we have a dining, which is a small part of the business, but working a lot on the value proposition for the consumer for the delivery.
Yeah. I mean, if I may, to add over here, I mean, I understand the relevance of the question, given the performance that we have seen in the French market and the situation that we have in the past with the investment in Sushi Shop.
There are many small levers, as Eduardo was mentioning, many different things that are really turning the boat and the situation of the brand. It is very important, the question that you asked, Jakub, with respect to the performance in the different regions. Just to remind you that Sushi Shop, the core business, the origin is France, but currently, we are running business in Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, the Gulf region, Luxembourg. In most of these markets, what we are seeing is a quite positive performance with all these initiatives that we are putting on the table that invite us to think that the situation, the macro situation that we are living in the French market, is preventing to unlash the value of all these initiatives that we are deploying at the moment. Thank you very much for the question.
Okay. Thank you very much for your answers.
That's a very useful caller. Thank you so much. Can I just, would it be far-fetched to assume that for a moment, you're not considering more radical changes to this own brand, such as, I don't know, exit or something like that at this point? I guess you're still in a mode to fix it, correct?
We are focusing all our efforts in order to deliver results in this brand in France.
Okay. Clear. Thank you.
Thank you. As a reminder, if you would like to ask any further questions, you can press star followed by one on your telephone keypads if you have dialed in on the phones. If you have joined online, you can type a written question in the Q&A box provided online.
Okay. Maybe I will use my privilege of moderator and ask a couple of questions from my end.
First of all, as a follow-up to Jakub's question, in France, do you see any path of the things getting better? Are there any timelines and the milestones you have set? Do you have any visibility when the things can get better? That's the first one.
Thank you for the question, Łukasz. For us right now, the most important thing is to work on the improvements that we were mentioning. We have several initiatives across that. We have a plan put in place by the brand president of the brand, and there is direct involvement of all the functional leaders. The CEO is involved in that execution plan, as you can imagine. Also, I'm quite involved in that, also operations. This is a priority. This is one of the priorities of the organization.
Right now, I prefer to focus more on the things that we are doing more than to enter into which is the timing. I want to assure that this is one of the priorities that we have in the organization in this 2025 and is still a priority for 2026.
Okay. Thank you. I also have a question about the Polish market when we see Żabka, the leading convenience chain, developing pretty fast. This year, they started the rollout of a pretty nice offer of QSR products. Do you see an impact of that? Do you find them competitors? Should we expect an impact of their development with offering of a pizza on your numbers? How do you see it?
Competition is something that is in the day-to-day operations of the restaurant industry.
As you say, this is one of the emerging competitions with the products that they are offering. That is why also for us, it is very important to work on our consumers, to work on the development of new products, on new occasions of consumption, on improving the experience that the consumers, that our clients have. That is why we made particularly a section in this conference call in terms of the topics that we are putting on the table to attract consumers, Generation C, but also all our consumers to keep our brands relevant. That is what is important for us. How we keep our brands relevant, what makes us unique, what makes us different, and the value proposition that we give and the development of new products is something that is quite relevant for us. You raise an interesting point. It is Żabka, as you say, but it is also supermarket.
The ready-to-eat segment in supermarkets is increasing. That's a reality. We need to adjust our strategy towards new realities that are happening there. As always, we welcome competition, and that makes us be better every day.
Okay. Thank you. Another question from my end before I let others is regarding the Czech market. When we were seeing recently negative news on the problems with quality or food safety in KFC, I understand the second restaurant was under the spotlight recently. Can you shed some light to that for us? What's happening there? How serious it is? Where can it take us?
Thank you, Łukasz, for the questions. We take matters of health and safety very seriously. We have very strict food and safety protocols in place.
Our restaurants regularly undergo multiple levels of quality and safety oversight, including external audits from independent third parties, internal food service controls, and also inspections from national and local authorities. Across these hundreds of audits in the Czech market, including 250 inspections conducted year to date by state authorities alone, we have not found any issue related to the systematic mishandling of food products. Yeah. I mean, I think that's the point, that we are really seeing many more audits than we had before, but all of them, they are coming up with a positive outcome. I think that one of the points that is always important to bear in mind, that the level of checks, audits, protocols that we have in terms of health safety, I mean, they are unparalleled in the industry. If one thing we can be very proud of, I think that is this specific point. Okay.
Thank you. That's all on my end for now. Operators, do we have any questions?
Thank you, Łukasz. One final reminder. If you'd like to ask a question, you can press star one. Otherwise, you can type a text question in the Q&A box provided.
Okay. Maybe in the meantime, we'll have another question. Germany, that's the market when you were ailing for a longer while, but in fact, I believe it was already the previous quarter when things stabilized and got better. This time around, we also see a decent performance there. What has changed? Why were Germany and also Hungary performing above the other market?
For Germany, we have to take one consideration. Still, it is one of the challenging markets that we have. As we were mentioning also with Sushi Shop in Germany, it's exactly the same.
We are working in order to improve the experience that our consumers are having over there. The main brand that we have in Germany is Starbucks. We have worked a lot in order to improve that experience, as I was saying, through the development of new products, new beverages, also increasing the offering that we have in terms of food. Going back to the roots of Starbucks is what is helping us to improve the results on that market.
Okay. Thank you. What about Hungary? Because this market is also standing out in the perspective.
You raised a very good one. If we make the comparisons versus the third quarter of last year, among the biggest markets that we have, Hungary was outstanding in terms of result and its execution and execution over there.
Okay. Thank you. That is all on my end. Thank you.
Just a reminder about star for as well. Sorry. We have received some writing questions. I guess that some of them, they have already been addressed. Thank you for it. I am going to try to read the ones that have not been addressed yet. One of the questions is, one, what are the main reasons for the slowing sales dynamics in Spain despite the strong curious and macro in the country?
Here, one of the points that is important to bear in mind, I think, is always we have a very strong seasonality in terms of our business. Depending on where your restaurants are placed, are situated, this seasonality is going to change. That is why I always suggest that it is important to see things from an aggregated perspective, trailing 12-month average, I think, that provides a better picture.
There, what you have now is a strong momentum in our restaurants. The challenge in terms of the situation in Spain is very similar to other countries despite the good macro figures that we have. That is the cost of living pressure that many people are suffering. This is, of course, affecting consumption. When you see the aggregated figures and the growth that we have, we have very positive dynamics, sales growth, rising margins. To be honest, we are quite positive about the future of our brands in the country. We have received also another question regarding Hungary that I think we have already addressed about the very good performance that we are recording in the country. An additional question is asking what are the main reasons for the like-for-like performance that we have in this quarter.
I think that this has also been addressed. We have some markets where we are having quite poor performance. We already addressed the situation that we have in France with a drop of 14% in terms of sales. This is one of the very big markets for us. This is, of course, affecting the like-for-like figures of the whole group. I do not know if we have any more questions on queue, Operator.
We currently have no questions in the queue, but one final reminder that you can ask a question by pressing star followed by one on your telephone keypad. Otherwise, you can type a written question today. I can see we have another question. I will hand back to Santiago to read that.
Sorry. I am just trying to see the question. I am not sure what he is referring to, the question. Apologies.
I think it's related to G&A. I think on this quarter, as we have seen the performance of the market, we have been also very focused in terms of how we control and tighten our G&A in order to balance the results. Also, we have a question in terms of if we are seeing a more cautious consumer in Poland. I think in a certain way, we also have addressed this. We have addressed this question in terms of consumption confidence across Europe is something that we look very closely. We see how we can improve through the different products that we offer in our restaurants to be able to deliver value to our consumer. One of the things that, yes, we are seeing, the promotional activity has increased, and the menus that we have are having an important weight in our mix.
We are seeing these kinds of effects in the consumer. What is relevant is that through the value proposition, the products that we deliver, and the menus that we have been able to offer to our consumers, the solution that they have in terms of food consumption in our restaurants. If I may here, I think that it is important to highlight also one topic. We have addressed today and on previous occasions also what is the complex context that we have from this macro perspective. Our consumer confidence is weak in many different countries. Once more, we have to refer to the effect of the cost of living standards that the accumulated inflation that we have in the latest years is having on consumption. We are not immune to this. This is a temporary effect.
This is something that at one point in time, it will pass. What we are trying to convey over here is two things. How we are addressing this. We are addressing this taking an agile approach in terms of adapting to our consumer needs, but also taking it as an opportunity to enhance, to improve our structural capabilities. This is also something that we are trying to really show you over here, how we are building a better and a more profitable company, bearing in mind that right now, the temporary macro factors are not helping our business.
We have one final question that is about CapEx expectations for next years. This is something that we will address on the next investor's call presentation when we provide the full-year guidance for 2026.
As we mentioned before, one of the things that we are trying to push as a structural move in our strategy is to optimize the capital allocation to be efficient in terms of this CapEx. What we are seeing is that this is translating in a lower usage of CapEx, but once more, not preventing us from investing to have a better company, to continue to open units, to continue to be investing in digitalization, and to continue to be improving our operational capabilities.
Thank you for all these questions. I think that with this, if there are not any more questions, I can confirm we have no further questions. Good. Thank you.
Thank you, Operator. Thank you to all the participants in the conference call. See each other in the next quarter results.
Please feel free to contact the IR team if you have any follow-up questions. We will be happy to see you in one of our restaurants in the near future. Thank you very much. Thank you. This does conclude the AmRest Q3 2025 results call. Thank you all for attending. You may now disconnect, and please enjoy the rest of your day.