Yum! Brands Reports Full-Year EPS Decline of 9%, or $2.97 Per Share, Excluding Special Items

Yum! Brands
Published: February 4th, 2014

Reaffirms Full-Year Guidance of at least 20% EPS Growth in 2014

LOUISVILLE, Ky.- (BUSINESS WIRE) - Feb. 3, 2014 - Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) today reported results for the fourth quarter ended December 28, 2013, including EPS growth of 4%, or $0.86, excluding Special Items. Reported EPS was $0.70 for the quarter and $2.36 for the year.

Full-Year Highlights

• KFC China sales and profits were significantly impacted by the effects of the December 2012 poultry supply incident, as well as subsequent news of avian flu.
• Worldwide system sales grew 2%, prior to foreign currency translation, including 5% growth at Yum! Restaurants International (YRI) and 1% growth in the U.S. System sales declined 4% in China.
• Same-store sales declined 13% in China. Same-store sales grew 1% at YRI and were flat in the U.S.
• Total international development was 1,952 new restaurants; 82% of this development occurred in emerging markets.
• Worldwide restaurant margin declined 1.6 percentage points to 15.0%, including a decline of 2.7 percentage points in China. Restaurant margin was even at YRI and increased 0.6 percentage points in the U.S.
• Worldwide operating profit declined 10%, prior to foreign currency translation, including a decline of 26% in China. Operating profit grew 10% at YRI and 3% in the U.S.
• Worldwide effective tax rate, prior to Special Items, increased to 28.0% from 25.8% driven primarily by a tax reserve adjustment in the third quarter. This charge impacted reported EPS by 2 percentage points for the full year.
• A non-cash, Special Items net charge of $258 million related to the write-down of Little Sheep intangible assets was recorded in the third quarter. This charge impacted reported EPS by 16 percentage points for the full year.
• The company repurchased $550 million of outstanding debt in the fourth quarter and recorded a Special Items net charge of approximately $75 million, primarily due to premiums paid related to this transaction. This impacted reported EPS by 22 percentage points for the quarter and 5 percentage points for the full year.

Fourth-Quarter Highlights

• Worldwide system sales grew 3%, prior to foreign currency translation, including 3% growth in China and 6% growth at YRI. System sales declined 1% in the U.S.
• Same-store sales declined 4% in China and 2% in the U.S. Same-store sales grew 2% at YRI.
• Worldwide restaurant margin declined 0.2 percentage points to 14.2%, including declines of 1.4 percentage points at YRI and 0.3 percentage points in the U.S. China restaurant margin increased 0.4 percentage points.
• Worldwide operating profit grew 2%, prior to foreign currency translation, including 5% in China, 11% at YRI and 2% in the U.S.

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David C. Novak Comments

David C. Novak, Chairman and CEO said, "While 2013 was a challenging year, I’m pleased to report continued progress as we enter 2014 with fourth-quarter EPS growth of 4%, excluding Special Items. More importantly, with the decisive actions we've taken to strengthen our company across the board, we are well positioned to deliver double-digit EPS growth in 2014 and the years ahead.

In China, we strengthened our poultry supply chain, made significant progress rebuilding consumer trust in the KFC brand and made substantial gains in restaurant productivity. At Pizza Hut Casual Dining, we increased our asset base by 28%, grew same-store sales by 4% and expanded breakfast into over 120 restaurants. We also achieved solid unit economics at Pizza Hut Home Service, and intend to scale this business over time. Overall, we opened 740 new restaurants in China, further strengthening our category-leading positions.

Outside of China, our franchise-led system opened over 1,200 new international restaurants, including more than 70% in high-growth emerging markets. Additionally, we continued to make investments ahead of the growth curve in India as we opened over 150 new units. In the U.S., Taco Bell delivered its eighth consecutive quarter of same-store sales growth and we are enthusiastic about our upcoming national breakfast launch. We are also excited about our plans at Pizza Hut to nationally advertise WingStreet and its award-winning chicken wings for the first time.

Importantly, as of January 1, 2014, we combined our Yum! Restaurants International and U.S. divisions into three global brand divisions: KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. China and India will remain separate divisions given their strategic importance and enormous growth potential. This new structure is designed to drive greater brand focus and lead to even more aggressive global growth.

We are confident we have the people and resources to deliver at least 20% EPS growth in 2014 and re-establish our track record of double-digit EPS growth."

CHINA DIVISION

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• China Division sales and profits were significantly impacted by the effects of the December 2012 poultry supply incident, as well as subsequent news of avian flu.
• System sales declined 4% for the year and grew 3% in the quarter, prior to foreign currency translation.
  • KFC same-store sales declined 15% for the year and 4% in the quarter.
  • Pizza Hut Casual Dining same-store sales grew 4% for the year and 5% in the quarter.
• China Division opened 740 new units during the year, including 282 units in the quarter. For the year, KFC opened 428 new units, Pizza Hut Casual Dining opened 247 new units and Pizza Hut Home Service opened 49 new units.

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• Restaurant margin decreased 2.7 percentage points to 15.4% for the year, driven by significant sales deleverage, which was partially offset by restaurant operating efficiencies. Restaurant margin increased 0.4 percentage points to 14.3% for the quarter. Excluding Little Sheep, restaurant margin was 16.2% for the year and 15.5% for the quarter.
• Foreign currency translation positively impacted operating profit by $23 million for the year and $8 million for the quarter.

YUM! RESTAURANTS INTERNATIONAL (YRI) DIVISION

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• YRI Division system sales increased 5% for the year and 6% for the quarter, prior to foreign currency translation. The system sales increases were driven by record new-unit development and same-store sales growth of 1% for the year and 2% for the quarter.
  • Emerging markets system sales grew 11% for the year, driven by 7% unit growth and 4% same-store sales growth. For the quarter, system sales grew 11%, driven by 7% unit growth and 3% same-store sales growth.
  • Developed markets system sales grew 1% for the year, including 1% unit growth. Same-store sales were even. For the quarter, system sales grew 3%, driven by 1% unit growth and 1% same-store sales growth.
• YRI opened a record 1,055 new units in 78 countries. This included 488 new units in the fourth quarter.
  • For the year, 703 of these units were opened in emerging markets.
  • 89% of all new units during the year were opened by franchisees.
• Restaurant margin was even for the year. Restaurant margin declined 1.4 percentage points for the quarter, as a result of margin performance in KFC UK.
• Operating profit growth was 10% for the year, prior to foreign currency translation. This included a benefit of 3 percentage points from refranchising the Pizza Hut UK Dine-In business in the fourth quarter of 2012.
• Foreign currency translation negatively impacted operating profit by $25 million for the year and $14 million for the quarter.

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U.S. DIVISION

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• U.S. Division same-store sales were flat for the year; including growth of 3% at Taco Bell, and declines of 2% at Pizza Hut and KFC. Same-store sales decreased 2% for the quarter, including declines of 4% at Pizza Hut and 5% at KFC. This was offset by 1% growth at Taco Bell, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of same-store sales growth.
• Net unit growth was 77 for the full year. This was the second consecutive year of net unit growth in the U.S.
• Operating profit growth was 3% for the year. Excluding the impact of refranchising, operating profit growth was 6%.

INDIA DIVISION

• India Division system sales increased 20% for the year and 22% for the quarter, prior to foreign currency translation. The system sales increase was driven by unit growth of 24%, and offset by a 1% decline in same-store sales for the year and a 4% decline for the quarter.

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Ownership Update

For the year in the U.S., we refranchised 214 units, primarily related to Taco Bell, for proceeds of $220 million. We recorded pre-tax U.S. refranchising gains of $91 million in Special Items. At year end, our company ownership in the U.S. was 10%.

Other Items Update

In the fourth quarter, we increased our annual dividend rate to $1.48 per share. This 10% increase marked the ninth consecutive year the dividend increased at a double-digit percentage rate.
For the full year, we repurchased 10.9 million shares totaling $750 million at an average price of $69.

Conference Call

Yum! Brands, Inc. will host a conference call to review the company's financial performance and strategies at 9:15 a.m. Eastern Time Tuesday, February 4, 2014. The number is 877/815-2029 for U.S. callers and 706/645-9271 for international callers.

The call will be available for playback beginning at 12:45 p.m. Eastern Time Tuesday, February 4, through midnight Tuesday, March 4, 2014. To access the playback, dial 855/859-2056 in the United States and 404/537-3406 internationally. The playback pass code is 40244877.

The webcast and the playback can be accessed via the internet by visiting Yum! Brands' Web site, www.yum.com/investors and selecting "Q4 2013 Earnings Conference Call" under "Investment Events." A podcast will be available within 24 hours.

Additional Information Online

Quarter end dates for each division, restaurant-count details and definitions of terms are available online at www.yum.com under "Investors".

This announcement, any related announcements and the related webcast may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

We intend all forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Our forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Factors that can cause our actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to: food safety and food-borne illness issues; economic conditions, consumer preferences, adverse publicity, tax rates, the regulatory environment, increased competition and other risks in China, where a significant and growing portion of our restaurants are located; economic and political conditions in the other countries where we operate; the success of our international development strategy; commodity, labor and other operating costs; our ability to secure and maintain distribution and adequate supply to our restaurants; the continued viability and success of our franchise and license operators; the impact or threat of any widespread illness or outbreaks of viruses or other diseases; a deterioration of the value or perception of our brands; our ability to manage the accelerating impact of social media; the impact of a potential suspension of our independent auditor; pending or future litigation and legal claims or proceedings; our ability to recruit, develop and retain effective leaders and other key executives; new and changing government regulations; our effective tax rates and disagreements with taxing authorities; our ability to protect the integrity and security of individually identifiable data of our customers and employees; changes in accounting standards or the underlying assumptions, estimates or judgments relating to financial reporting; our ability to protect our service marks and other intellectual property; changes in global economic conditions, including consumer spending, consumer confidence and unemployment; competition within the retail food industry, including with respect to price and quality, new product development, advertising levels and promotional initiatives, customer service, reputation, restaurant location, and attractiveness and maintenance of properties; and risks associated with the Little Sheep business. You should consult our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (including the information set forth under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K) for additional detail about factors that could affect our financial and other results. Forward looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and currently available data and are neither predictions nor guarantees of future events or performance. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. We are not undertaking to update any of these statements.

Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, has over 40,000 restaurants in more than 125 countries and territories. Yum! is ranked #201 on the Fortune 500 List with revenues of over $13 billion in 2012 and in 2013 was named among the top 100 Corporate Citizens by Corporate Responsibility Magazine. The Company's restaurant brands - KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell - are the global leaders of the chicken, pizza and Mexican-style food categories. Outside the United States, the Yum! Brands system opened over five new restaurants per day, making it a leader in international retail development.

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Source: Yum! Brands, Inc.

Contacts:

YUM! Brands, Inc.

Analysts:

Steve Schmitt
888-298-6986
Vice President Investor Relations

Donny Lau
888-298-6986
Director Investor Relations

Media:

Virginia Ferguson
502-874-8200
Director Public Relations