Yum China 3Q Profit Nearly Doubled Following Acquisition

Yum China Holdings Inc.'s third-quarter net profit nearly doubled as business activity improved in China and the company booked a noncash gain following an acquisition.

Profit was about $439 million, up from about $223 million in the same period a year earlier, Shanghai-based Yum China said in a Hong Kong stock-exchange filing Thursday. The company booked a $239 million gain after it acquired a KFC operator and revalued its prior equity stake in the company.

The operator of thousands of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and other restaurants in China said total revenues rose 1.3% to $2.35 billion. It said operations were affected by lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, including reduced tourism and a delayed and shortened school holiday, adding that same-store sales declined 6%.

Yum China said it plans to increase staffing levels in the coming months and resume a quarterly cash dividend in the fourth quarter. It expected the pandemic to continue to have a material adverse impact on operational and financial results in 2020.

"We remain cautiously optimistic and continue to expect the recovery to be non-linear and uneven," said Andy Yeung, the company's chief financial officer. "Although the Covid-19 outbreak in China has improved over the past months, we are not out of the woods yet."

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 28, 2020 21:04 ET (01:04 GMT)

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