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Industryweek 8204 Yum
Industryweek 8204 Yum
Industryweek 8204 Yum
Industryweek 8204 Yum
Industryweek 8204 Yum

Yum Brands Posts Q4 Loss as China Sales Slide

Feb. 5, 2015
The Louisville, Kentucky-based company said its earnings were affected by the July tainted meat scandal involving a former supplier, after a strong first half of the year.

NEW YORK - Yum Brands reported Wednesday a swing into a fourth-quarter loss, saying its recovery in China from a tainted meat scandal was taking longer than it expected.

The parent of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurant chains said it had a net loss of $36 million in the October-December quarter compared with a net income of $321 million a year ago.

Adjusted earnings per share, a gauge closely watched by Wall Street, fell 29 percent to 61 cents.

The Louisville, Kentucky-based company said its earnings were affected by the July tainted meat scandal involving a former supplier, after a strong first half of the year.

"While the sales recovery in China continues to be slower than expected, we anticipate a strong second half of 2015 as the turnaround gains momentum, led by menu innovation across the year," said Greg Creed, Yum's chief executive, in a statement.

"Our top priority is to recover sales in China and capture the significant profit leverage we have in this business," Creed said.

Creed said the company, which has more than 4,600 KFC restaurants and 1,100 Pizza Hut restaurants in China, plans to open least 700 new units in China.

Yum maintained its 2015 full-year forecast of at least 10 percent growth in earnings per share.

Worldwide sales in the fourth quarter grew three percent, weighed down by an 11 percent fall in the China division.

Fourth-quarter revenues gained four percent at nearly $4 billion.

For all of 2014, Yum reported a 3.7 percent fall in net income to $1.05 billion. Adjusted earnings of $3.09 per share were up four percent. Revenues rose one percent to $13.28 billion.

Outside of China, the company said there was momentum in its KFC chicken chain and Mexican-style Taco Bell restaurants.  

Creed said the company would open more than 2,100 new international restaurants this year, "further strengthening our lead in emerging markets."

Investors welcomed the results which were posted after the market closed. Yum shares were up 1.4 percent at $74.69 in after-hours trade.

Copyright Agence France Presse, 2015

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