Yum Manufacturers (YUM) This fall 2020 Earnings High Estimates

The signage is outside of a Yum! Brands Inc. Restaurant Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, on Thursday, January 30, 2020.

Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Yum Brands reported quarterly results and sales on Thursday that beat analysts’ projections, despite international dining room closures weighing on sales growth at KFC and Pizza Hut in the same business.

The company’s shares rose less than 1% in premarket trading.

The company reported, versus Wall Street’s expectations based on an analyst survey by Refinitiv:

• Earnings per share: $ 1.15, adjusted versus expected $ 1.01
• Revenue: $ 1.74 billion versus $ 1.72 billion expected

Yum reported net income of $ 332 million, or $ 1.08 per share, for the fourth quarter, compared with $ 488 million or $ 1.58 per share a year earlier.

Disregarding items, the company earned $ 1.15 per share, beating the analysts surveyed by Refinitiv at $ 1.01 per share.

Net sales increased 3% to $ 1.74 billion, beating expectations of $ 1.72 billion. Globally, the company’s sales in the same store declined 1% in the quarter, and Taco Bell was the only brand to see positive sales growth in the same store.

At KFC, total sales in the same store decreased 2%. Sales in the US in the same store increased 8%, in international locations sales in restaurants that have been open for at least a year decreased 4%. Only 18% of KFC’s sales come from its home market, and China accounts for more of its system sales than the US

Pizza Hut sales in the same store were only 1% lower for the quarter. The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the U.S. turnaround and helped cement its reputation for delivery and takeaway rather than dining out. Pizza chain sales in the same store in the United States rose 8% for the quarter. Outside the US, however, Pizza Hut is taking longer to recover, and international sales in the same store were down 7%.

Habit Burger Grill, which was acquired by Yum last year, posted a 5% drop in sales in the same store. The burger chain is much smaller than the other brands from Yum.

Yum added 227 new Netto restaurants in the quarter. Pizza Hut was the company’s only brand to close more locations than opened.

Read the full report here.