Yum! Brands Q1 Profit Tops Street On China Sales

(RTTNews) - Restaurant operator Yum! Brands Inc. (YUM), Wednesday reported an increase in profit for the first quarter that also topped Wall Street estimates, however, revenues fell short of expectations.

Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum! Brands reported first-quarter profit of $391 million or $0.93 per share, up from $362 million or $0.81 per share last year.

Adjusted earnings rose to $0.95 per share from $0.80 per share last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.83 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Yum Brands, the parent company of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut, said revenues remained flat at $2.62 billion. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $2.66 billion.

Yum Brands, which is spinning off its China business, said worldwide system sales grew 5 percent, while its worldwide operating margin increased 2.9 percentage points.

China system sales increased 11 percent, driven by 5 percent unit growth and 6 percent same-store sales growth.

CEO Greg Creed said, "I'm very pleased with our results in the first quarter, including better-than-expected core operating profit growth of 21%, driven by 42% growth in our China business. KFC China had an outstanding Chinese New Year bucket promotion leading to 12% same-store sales growth for the quarter, underscoring the power of delivering insight-driven marketing that resonates with our customers."

YUM closed Wednesday's trading at $82.53, up $0.40 or 0.49%, on the NYSE. The stock further gained $3.15 or 3.82% in the after-hours trade.