7 Apr 2011

Restaurant Brands boosts full year profit

2:07 pm on 7 April 2011

Strong sales at KFC have once again boosted full year profits at the fast-food chain operator Restaurant Brands.

The company, which also runs the Pizza Hut and Starbucks chains, made $25 million in the year to the end of February, an increase of 25% on the previous year.

KFC continued to be Restaurant Brands' star performer, with sales at stores open more than a year rising nearly 4.5%.

At Pizza Hut, same store sales dropped almost 4%. Five stores were sold during the year as part of its sell-down strategy, while four stores shut their doors.

The company also closed four Starbucks stores but the chain lifted it's performance, with same store sales rising almost 1%.

Restaurant Brands' chief executive Russell Creedy says the $25 million profit is the company's best ever.

Mr Creedy says, however, that trading conditions deteriorated in the second half of the financial year as rising petrol prices and an increase in GST hit consumers' pockets.

Mr Creedy says he expects the retail sector to remain tough this year as competition intensifies for an increasingly scarce consumer dollar.

Restaurant Brands will pay a full year dividend of 17 cents, which is 4.5 cents more than last year.