Restaurant Brands gets big help from Hawaii operators as group sales up but profit down

A good result from Hawaii helped make up for inflationary pressures and other challenges Restaurant Brands encountered. Photo / 123RF

Major fast food operator Restaurant Brands has thanked its Hawaii business, more stores and a stronger US dollar for soaring sales in the first half of the year.

Reporting its half-year result to the NZX today, the company said sales rose to $584.9 million for the six months ending June 30.

That was a $44.3 million increase on the previous half-year.

Ebitda before expenses fell $3.7m to $84.3m. The company said that was symptomatic of major inflationary pressures facing the company in all markets.

But the company said its Hawaii division's good result and strong sales elsewhere helped compensate for those inflationary pressures.

The company today said it faced challenges from Covid-19 with staff shortages hampering operations across all divisions.

And the pandemic in some cases forced reduced operating hours.

Restaurant Brands operates major fast food franchises KFC, Pizza Hut, Carl's Jr and newest addition to the scene, Taco Bell.

It said it now had 367 stores, including 11 new Taco Bell outlets across New Zealand and Australia.

All up, the company owned 138 stores in New Zealand, 81 in Australia, 74 in Hawaii, and 74 in California.

Restaurant Brands owns KFC, Pizza Hut, Carl's Jr and Taco Bell outlets. Photo / Luke Kirkness

The company earned group net profit after tax of $15.3 million for the half-year. That was down $19.2 million on the last half-year's reported result.

Restaurant Brands early last week was one of the worst performers on the NZX 50 but then bounced back.

Today's results come at a volatile time for some in the fast food industry worldwide.

In Australia, Domino's Pizza Enterprises last week slumped 9.6 per cent after posting healthy gains upon release of its fiscal year 2022 results.

The pizza chain posted an underlying after-tax profit reduction of 12.5 per cent off 4.6 per cent growth in sales globally.