Restaurant Brands, which operates KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks Coffee, said first quarter sales grew 5.9 per cent as burger sales from its latest addition to New Zealand's fast food scene, Carl's Jr, climbed 60 per cent.
Total store sales rose to $77.7 million in the three months ended May 19 from $73.3 million in the same period a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. Same store sales rose 4.3 per cent to $74.3 million.
Restaurant Brands is tweaking its store mix in an effort to boost earnings. The company is selling its regional and lower volume Pizza Hut stores to independent franchisees, has closed unprofitable Starbucks Coffee outlets and added burger chain Carl's Jr. to better compete with rivals McDonald's and Burger King.
In the coming year it plans to pick up the pace of store upgrades at its main KFC fried chicken chain, as it targets a complete revamp of the network in the next two years.
Sales at the Carl's Jr outlets, which Restaurant Brands brought to New Zealand at the start of 2012, rose to $3.7 million from $2.3 million, while same store sales fell 36 per cent to $1.5 million reflecting a strong opening from the previous year, the company said. The chain didn't open any new stores in the quarter, but has doubled the number of stores to eight in the intervening months.
