Yum China: Latest Outbreak Weighs on 2Q Results, Company Plan More Locations

 By Maria Armental 
 

Yum China Holdings Inc.'s second-quarter financial performance reflected improved business activity in China even as the virus resurgence in some areas continued to weigh on operations, particularly in transportation and tourist locations.

Same-store sales, a key sales metric, rose 5% in the latest period, adjusted for currency conversion, and driven by Pizza Hut.

Second-quarter profit rose to $181 million from $132 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, it reported profit and adjusted profit of 42 cents.

Total revenue rose to $2.45 billion from $1.9 billion a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected an adjusted profit of 44 cents a share on $2.45 billion in revenue.

Yum China now expects to open about 1,300 new locations and spend $700 million to $800 million this year in capital projects, up from its previous view of opening about 1,000 new locations and spending about $600 million in capital projects.

The company said the recovery to pre-pandemic levels was interrupted by a Delta variant outbreak in southern China that, at the peak of the outbreak, caused some 400 locations to close temporarily or offer only delivery and pickup only.

"This represents nearly 30% of our restaurants in Guangdong province, which has two of the four tier one cities in China, is the largest economy in China and one of Yum China's largest markets," the company said in a statement.

Sales at transportation and tourist locations improved from the previous quarter but remain well below pre-pandemic levels, the company said.

Write to Maria Armental at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 28, 2021 17:03 ET (21:03 GMT)

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