Holidays, cricket boost for KFC

A consumer spendup on food and drinks over Christmas, New Year and around special events like the Cricket World Cup helped Restaurant Brands boost fourth quarter sales by 10.6 per cent.

The NZX-listed food retailer, Restaurant Brands, which owns KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks Coffee and Carl’s Jr, increased total fourth quarter sales by $8.2 million to to $92.8m for the 13 weeks to March 2.

However, the fourth quarter sales took place during 13 weeks, versus a 12-week fourth quarter in the prior year.

Restaurant Brands’ results for the 2014-15 financial year are on a 53-week basis versus 52 weeks for the previous year.

Of the total equivalent fourth quarter increase, KFC contributed $5.3m, driven by strong same-store sales. Carl’s Jr. contributed a further $3.3m, mostly from the acquisition of seven Aucklandbased Carl’s Jr. stores.

The company’s same-store sales for the period were up 5.7 per cent.

The same-store sales were led by KFC, which grew 7.5 per cent. Starbucks Coffee same-store sales were up 5.3 per cent and Pizza Hut sales were up 1.7 per cent. Carl’s Jr. was down 11.4 per cent.

Total sales for KFC were $67.2m, up 9.3 per cent, or $5.3m, on the equivalent 12-week period last year, while same-store sales were up by 7.5 per cent.

The strong KFC sales continued to be driven by the new menu, increased marketing spend and longer store opening hours. The company will announce its fullyear profit results on April 16.