According to the Associated Press, “Robust sales in China helped chain-restaurant operator Yum Brands Inc. post 18 percent growth in its third-quarter profit, easily beating Wall Street forecasts.”
“The company that owns Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut also raised its forecast for its annual earnings per share on Tuesday. Lower commodity expenses and general cost-cutting helped offset a 5 percent drop in U.S. revenue. Yum’s net income for the three months that ended Sept. 5 rose to $334 million, or 69 cents per share, compared with $282 million, or 58 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, it earned 70 cents per share. Revenue for the quarter fell 2 percent to $2.78 billion from $2.84 billion last year. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected Yum to earn 58 cents per share, excluding one-time items, on revenue of $2.79 billion. It now forecasts profit of $2.14 for the full year, up from $2.10, excluding special items. Yum said the adjustment reflected a better performance than expected in China and a lower-than-expected full-year effective tax rate mainly outside the U.S.”