Pizza Hut delivers sales lift

Listed fast-food company Restaurant Brands burned off competition from Hell to report a $10.9 million increase in sales - mainly driven by local growth for its Pizza Hut business.

The fast-food operator said sales rose 3.6 per cent to $315.5 million for the year to last month.

Ten new Pizza Hut stores contributed to a 7.7 per cent increase in sales to $87.6 million for that division despite hot competition from the likes of Domino's Pizza and newcomer Hell Pizza.

Restaurant Brands chief executive Vicki Salmon said competition was healthy for her company.

"Before there was just us and one competitor and we just lolled about. This has enabled us to grow our business quite significantly: the competition has grown the category."

Same-store growth for the pizza chain was down 0.7 per cent.

Salmon said that was because new Pizza Hut stores had taken sales - rather than a loss of customers to competitors.

The company now has 101 Pizza Hut stores and Salmon says new store openings and new types of pizzas will continue to drive growth in the business.

Across the group, same-store sales were just 0.5 per cent higher for the year, after a year in which the company's biggest business, KFC, withdrew delivery service at some sites.

But sales for the 13-week fourth-quarter of $77.7 million were 11.3 per cent higher than the corresponding quarter a year ago.

"The last four quarters have improved each quarter, so we see the fourth quarter as a good solid result for us," said Salmon.

KFC reported a 1.1 per cent increase in total sales for the year, to $173.1 million, while same-store growth was flat.

Promotions such as Cajun Chicken and the Honey Roast burger helped quarterly sales, however.

Total sales rose 8.3 per cent for the quarter to $42.5 million, while same store sales rose 1.5 per cent.

Salmon said the trial of a new-look KFC store in Frankton had delivered encouraging results and would be tried out in more KFC stores in the new financial year.

"It's a much more contemporary look, with leather booth seating inside and big tables for families."

The company's Starbucks Coffee chain was boosted by warm weather, which helped sales of its cold Frappuccino beverage to record levels.

That helped drive a 7.8 per cent rise in sales for the full year, to a new high of $24.9 million. Same-store sales were up 3.6 per cent.

Fourth-quarter sales for the coffee chain rose 16.5 per cent to $6.6 million, or 2.4 per cent on a same-store basis. Starbucks stores grew by four to 39, and Salmon expects numbers to increase.

Looking ahead, the company said sales momentum had been maintained into the first few weeks of the new financial year.

Apart from the focus on new stores for the Pizza Hut brand in New Zealand, and Starbucks Coffee, some relocations are planned for Pizza Hut in Victoria, where Restaurant Brands has a further 51 stores.

The company will report its annual result on April 7.