By Ben Otto

Jollibee Foods Corp. will spend 7 billion Philippine pesos ($138.0 million) on adapting its restaurants and operations to changing consumer behavior as it incurs losses amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Manila-based fast-food company said Friday that it will increase capacity for delivery and drive-through services, implement social-distancing protocols and stage a strategic review of non-performing stores, supply chain facilities and other facets of operations.

Jollibee, operator of more than 5,000 stores largely in the Philippines, North America and China, will also invest in digital commerce and establish unmarked delivery outlets, among other measures, it said.

"These changes will be made with the assumption that consumers around the world will not quickly revert to pre-Covid-19 behavior once lockdowns and other forms of restrictions are lifted in different countries," the company said.

Jollibee said it will book the bulk of its planned expenses in 2020 and that the changes will help it "start 2021 in a much stronger position in terms of business model, operating efficiency, profitability and organization strength."

Jollibee has been hard-hit by global lockdowns designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus. In March, the company said it would postpone about PHP9 billion in capex this year due to operational constraints in constructing facilities and uncertain customer demand.

On Friday, Jollibee said first-quarter profit and sales were "not good" and that sales in the coming months will continue to be much lower than a year earlier even as lockdown measures are lifted.

Full-year profit "will not be good at all due to the overall economic environment," said Ysmael V. Baysa, the company's chief financial officer.

Jollibee Foods last year acquired Los Angeles-based The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for $350 million in its largest overseas business expansion. It also operates name-brand stores and others like Red Ribbon and Burger King in various countries. 



  Write to Ben Otto at ben.otto@wsj.com