Restaurant Brands third-quarter sales climb 4.7%

Wednesday 16th December 2009

Restaurant Brands New Zealand Ltd., the fast-food franchise holder whose stock has more than doubled this year, reported a 4.7% gain in third-quarter sales and reiterated its forecast for annual profit to jump 50%.

Total sales rose to $72.9 million in the 12 weeks ended Dec. 7, from $69.6 million a year earlier, the company said in a statement today. Same-store sales climbed 7.2%.

Shares of Restaurant Brands have soared 140% this year as the company turned around the performance of its Pizza Hut chain in the face of fierce competition, and lifted sales from its most profitable KFC chicken outlets, making up for weaker returns from its Starbucks coffee stores. Sales at KFC rose 7.4% in the third quarter, while revenue from Pizza Hut slipped 0.1% and Starbucks dropped 2.8%, the company said today.

“The current economic climate is still not adversely impacting overall positive sales growth for the company,” chief executive Russel Creedy said in the statement.

Full-year profit will rise to $17.5 million, the company said, reiterating a forecast it first made in November. That was its second upgrade in two months.

KFC accounted for almost 70% of total revenue and 90% of earnings last year.

Businesswire.co.nz

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