MANILA - Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) reported higher sales and profits as it aggressively expanded by adding more stores last year, the company disclosed to the stock exchange on Thursday.

Jollibee said its sales grew 23.5 percent to P212 billion while profits rose 17.1 percent to P8.3 billion last year as the company opened 502 stores worldwide.

The company said 317 stores were opened in the Philippines, while 185 new stores were launched abroad in 2018. This is now the highest number of new stores opened in one year in Jollibee's 40-year history, the firm said.

Jollibee also benefited from its acquisition of Smashburger in North America. Smashburger has 351 stores, mostly in the United States.

Jollibee CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong noted that JFC performed strongly in the Philippines in 2018 despite the quickening inflation rate and slower economic growth.

"We continue to pursue our aspiration to become one of the top restaurant companies in the world," Tanmantiong said.

The company said that it has allotted P17.2 billion in capital expenditures for 2019, which will go to setting up new stores, renovation of existing stores, and investments in manufacturing plants.

Last November, JFC said it planned to expand its stores in the US to 150 in 5 years and add 100 branches in Canada. Both countries have many migrants from the Philippines.