Soup Holdings announced, on Aug 13, that it intends to diversify into smart kitchen solutions using artificial intelligence (AI) to help with Singapore&rsquo s manpower crunch and rising costs in the food and beverage (F& B) sector, specifically businesses catering to schools, enterprises and government agencies.

 

To do so, the company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Xi Xiang Technology Pte Ltd (XXT). XXT is controlled by Shanghai Xixiang Yixiang E-Commerce Co. Ltd (Shanghai XYE), an e-commerce and robotics company which carries out research and development, produces, operates and maintains smart kitchen equipment in China.

 

Under the MOU, Soup and XXT will form a joint venture to provide smart kitchen solutions and equipment including related designs to clients, as well as promote, sell and lease smart equipment and solutions to kitchens. The collaboration will tap into Soup&rsquo s experience in the handling and preparation of Asian food, as well as its knowledge of the markets in Singapore and Southeast Asia, while leveraging XXT and its parent company&rsquo s AI-powered solutions.

 

&ldquo [This move] is to bring about a paradigm shift in Asian food preparation by significantly mechanising the handling and preparation of food,&rdquo says Wong Chi Keong, managing director of Soup Holdings. &ldquo This will help to minimise human contact, improve food hygiene while still retaining the ' look-feel-and-taste' of the cuisines.&rdquo

 

&ldquo Setting up AI kitchens on site at the clients&rsquo premises will also enable them to serve freshly prepared food and reduce the time lag and logistics required to transport cooked food. With this, there is better control of food freshness and safety, besides savings in manpower and better consistency in food quality,&rdquo he adds.

 

 

Soup Holdings has reported earnings of $224,000 for the 1HFY2025 ended June 30, up 34.1% y-o-y.

 

Revenue for the first half of the year came in 6.3% y-o-y lower at $19.4 million. This decrease in revenue was primarily due to the closure of three outlets and three cloud kitchens, which accounted for a reduction of $1.1 million.

 

The group says that this is in line with its strategy of evaluating underperforming outlets, retaining and refocusing on those with turnover potential, while exiting operations that no longer align with the group&rsquo s targets. In addition, revenue from existing outlets declined by $0.3 million.

 

These decreases were partially offset by a $0.9 million contribution from a new outlet opened at the beginning of the financial year 2025.

 

Soup Holdings&rsquo non-current assets for the period ended June 30 increased to $14.7 million due to the addition of $4.5 million in right-of-use assets and plant and equipment.

 

Cash and cash equivalents decreased by $1.9 million due to payments made for the purchase of plant and equipment, payment of final and special dividends and repayment of lease obligations and interests.

 

These outflows were partially offset by net cash generated from operating activities amounting to $2.8 million.

 

As at 1HYFY2025, the group reported net current liabilities of $0.2 million, mainly due to renovation costs incurred to enhance customer experience. Total equity amounted to $8.3 million and net asset value per share stood at 2.95 cents as at end June.

This is in response to a shareholder&rsquo s queries on the disclosure made in its recent annual report

 

SOUP Holdings : 5KI -3.3% reported five non-compliance cases of food safety regulations, and one incident of cockroaches being found at its Cafe O outlet that led to a letter of intended summons in 2023.

 

The unhygienic situation prompted a check by a shareholder on what the regulatory actions mean for the food and beverage player operating brands including Soup Restaurant.

 

Soup Holdings responded to the concern in a bourse filing on Sunday (Apr 21), saying that the disclosure made in its recent annual report of the letter of intended summons indicates a breach of food safety regulations.

 

Soup Holdings pointed out that if a licensee accumulates 12 demerit points or more within 12 months, its licence would be suspended for two to four weeks or revoked by the Singapore Food Agency.

 

Soup Holdings said: &ldquo The outlet was not suspended from operating since we are within the 12-demerit-point allowance.&rdquo

 

In contrast, only one non-compliance case and no letter of intended summons were reported in 2022.

 

Having contracted vendors to take corrective measures, including intensified pest extermination at all outlets, the issue was resolved and has not recurred since, Soup Holdings said.