Yum Brands quarterly same-store sales met its estimates as more people dined out during Q2 and the brand held steady in tacos, pizza and fried chicken, according to a press release.
Taco Bell’s same-store sales were up, though the company has a smaller international footprint than Yum’s other brands.
Yum’s shares were up about 1% in premarket trading.
“Our second-quarter system sales grew 5% excluding Russia, driven by sustained development momentum,” David Gibbs, CEO, said in a statement. “Despite a complex operating environment and lapping the strongest same-store sales growth in our history, our global business continues to perform well, led by industry-leading results at Taco Bell U.S. including 8% same-store sales growth and in-line margins year-over-year. We are pleased with the continued growth of our digital business with digital sales of nearly $6 billion, fueled by the adoption of our global platforms and capabilities. Our second quarter results demonstrate the resilience and power of our unmatched global scale, unrivaled talent and world-class franchise partners that are the driving force behind the success of our iconic brands.”
Yum Brands is also in the process of transferring ownership of its Russian KFC units to a local operator who plans to rebrand the restaurants.
Other highlights included:
- Worldwide system sales grew 3%, excluding foreign currency translation, with KFC at 1%, Taco Bell at 10% and Pizza Hut flat.
- During the second quarter, 781 gross units were added, resulting in 463 net-new units offset by the removal of 1,165 Russia units for a total decline in unit count of 702 units during the quarter.
- Russia units do not impact the brand’s same-store sales results for the quarter.
- Worldwide same-store sales excluding China grew 6% during the quarter.
- Foreign currency translation unfavorably impacted divisional operating profit by $23 million.
