Restaurant Brands' Q2 sales climb

Wednesday 23rd September 2009

Restaurant Brands New Zealand, the fast-food operator, posted a 4.8% gain in second-quarter sales as it sold more pizza and fried chicken, making up for a weaker performance at its Starbucks coffee outlets.

The holder of the KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks franchises reaffirmed its recent forecast for first-half earnings to soar 87% to $8.7 million on the turnaround at the long-unprofitable Pizza Hut and sales growth at KFC. Sales rose to $96.9 million from the same period a year earlier, the company said today.

Sales at the KFC chicken restaurants, which now account for 70% of revenue, climbed 7.6% to $68.2 million. Pizza Hut sales rose 2.4% to $19.9 million while sales at Starbucks dipped 5% to $8.8 million.

Shares of Restaurant Brands fell 1.6% to $1.21, having soared 95% in the past year. The company rolled out new KFC products including Popcorn Chicken Roller and Honey Soy twister to underpin sales growth. Same-store sales grew 9.2%.

Pizza Hut's marketing has focused on its ability to deliver timely pizzas and more upmarket toppings including Stuffed Crust with Italian herbs. Same-store sales rose 5.2%.

At Starbucks, demand softened for coffee and food, prompting the company to change the way it manages the business and tweak its product mix.

Businesswire.co.nz

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