Auckland-grown gourmet burger chain BurgerFuel Group has lifted full year net profit by 91.8 percent to 1.97 million dollars, riding a 4.12 percent rise in New Zealand sales and a 20 percent jump at its Shake Out burger brand even as the Middle East conflict drags on its overseas business.
The NZX-listed company, which trades under the ticker BFW, reported its result for the year ended 31 March 2026 on Friday. Total system sales across the group climbed 2.93 percent to 111.4 million dollars, the bulk of that earned at home where 62 BurgerFuel restaurants now operate from Kaitāia to Invercargill. New Zealand system sales reached 108 million dollars for the year. The three remaining Middle East stores, all operating under franchise, saw sales fall in what management described as a difficult and uncertain trading environment shaped by the Iran conflict.
BurgerFuel said the profit jump was driven by stronger trading, a sharp reduction in legal costs that had weighed on prior results, and a one-off gain from the sale of its Ponsonby restaurant in central Auckland during the year. The Ponsonby sale converts a company-owned store into a franchised one, releasing capital and shifting that location to the higher margin royalty model the group prefers as it matures.
The standout growth number was at Shake Out, the fast and casual burger brand BurgerFuel has been quietly building out across high foot traffic sites. Total Shake Out sales rose 20 percent on the prior year. Shake Out has been positioned as a complementary brand rather than a competitor, often co-located with BurgerFuel stores, and management has previously said it gives the group a second revenue stream from younger customers wanting a quick meal.
The result lands at a moment when the New Zealand fast food market is unusually crowded. McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s have all leaned into value menus to hold traffic through a stretched consumer cycle, while smash burger upstarts and Korean fried chicken chains have pulled urban diners away from the traditional drive thru. Against that backdrop, holding 4.12 percent same country sales growth and almost doubling bottom line profit is a respectable showing for a homegrown operator that has been on the NZX since 2007.
The Middle East exposure remains the obvious soft spot. BurgerFuel first opened in Dubai in 2007 and at its peak had stores across Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq. The portfolio has been steadily pared back, and the remaining three sites have all been hit by the regional fallout from the Israel-Iran conflict that escalated through late 2025. Tourist arrivals into the Gulf cities have softened, foot traffic in shopping malls is patchier than usual, and franchisees in the region are dealing with disrupted supply lines for some ingredients.
Looking ahead, BurgerFuel told investors it remains cautious about the outlook for the 2027 financial year. The company flagged what it called a challenging operating environment and rising cost of ingredients, particularly beef, dairy and cooking oils. New Zealand beef prices have firmed through 2026 on the back of strong export demand into China and the United States, while a tight global vegetable oil market has pushed up the cost of frying fats. Those input pressures cut directly into the gross margin of every burger sold and force operators to either lift prices or accept thinner returns.
Founded in 1995 by Chris Mason and Josef Roberts in Auckland’s Ponsonby, BurgerFuel built its reputation on bigger, more indulgent burgers than the international chains were offering and on a deliberately Kiwi brand voice. The company moved onto the NZX through a reverse listing in 2007 and has since paid out regular dividends to a loyal shareholder base. The share register is still heavily weighted toward New Zealand retail investors, and the stock trades thinly enough that result days move the price more sharply than larger listings.
The 91.8 percent profit lift will please long suffering shareholders, who have watched the share price drift sideways for several years as the company worked through the legal disputes and Middle East restructuring that pulled down earlier results. With those one-off costs largely behind it and the Shake Out brand finally gaining traction, BurgerFuel now has to convince the market that the underlying New Zealand business can keep growing through what looks set to be a tougher 2027.
BurgerFuel did not publicly disclose a dividend in its summary release, with detail to follow in the full annual report. The company will hold its annual shareholder meeting later in the year, where chair Peter Brook and chief executive Josef Roberts are expected to set out the next phase of the strategy.
Sources for this story include the BusinessDesk summary of the FY26 result and BurgerFuel Group’s listing on the NZX.
What do you make of BurgerFuel’s comeback year and the Shake Out brand growing 20 percent. Are you still ordering Bastard Burgers and Bacon Backfires, or has your loyalty drifted to the smash burger crowd. Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job 🙂
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