Yum China Holdings has booked higher sales for the third quarter thanks to the openings of new restaurants. The company’s system sales rose 4 per cent year-on-year while revenues increased 5 per cent to $3.07 billion, primarily attributed to 438 net new stores. The Total store count as of September 30 was 15,861, including 11,283 KFC stores and 3606 Pizza Hut locations. Same-store sales were down 3 per cent but still marked a “sequential improvement” compared to the 4 per cent decline in t
e in the second quarter.
At KFC, system sales grew 6 per cent amid 352 net new stores, while same-store sales decreased 2 per cent. Pizza Hut’s sales were up 2 per cent on a reported basis with 102 new locations, but down 6 per cent on a comparable basis.
“These results demonstrate the effectiveness of our strategy and our ability to outperform in a challenging and fluid environment,” said Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China.
“We regard both system sales and same-store sales growth as equally important. With these priorities in mind, we continue to drive menu innovations, infusing fresh energy into our flagship products.”
On the bottom line, operating profit grew 15 per cent to $371 million and net income rose to $297 million from last year’s $244 million.
The company continues to expect the opening of 1500 to 1700 net new stores this year and capital expenditures of $700-850 million.
“We anticipate the franchise mix of net new stores will gradually increase to 40-50 per cent for KFC and 20-30 per cent for Pizza Hut over the next few years,” added Wat.
