LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM), in advance of its Annual Investor Meeting,
reconfirms its full-year 2013 EPS forecast of high-single to low
double-digit decline versus prior year, excluding Special Items. Yum!
expects to deliver at least 20% EPS growth in 2014, excluding Special
Items.
David C. Novak, Chairman and CEO, said, “We expect to have a strong
bounceback in 2014 following a year that is clearly below our high
expectations. In China, we have an aggressive plan to reignite sales at
KFC and we expect continued strong performance at Pizza Hut Casual
Dining. In addition, our international new-unit development pipeline
remains extremely robust. We expect to open at least 1,850 new
restaurants outside the U.S., further strengthening our leadership
position in emerging markets. We also expect continued development
momentum in the U.S. and are excited about our upcoming national
breakfast launch at Taco Bell.
“Importantly, with our recent announcement to combine our Yum!
Restaurants International (YRI) and U.S. individual divisions for KFC,
Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, effective January 1, 2014, we are well
positioned to more aggressively accelerate growth in the years ahead. We
remain focused on the three keys to driving shareholder value: new-unit
development, same-store sales growth and generating high returns on
invested capital.”
2014 OVERALL GUIDANCE
Yum! expects to deliver at least 20% EPS growth in 2014, excluding
Special Items.
-
China Division operating profit growth of at least 40%
-
At least 1,850 new international units, including:
-
700 new units in China
-
150 new units in India
-
At least 600 new units at KFC
-
At least 400 new units at Pizza Hut
-
Global capital expenditures of $1.2 billion
-
Worldwide G&A increase of about 4%
-
Estimated tax rate for years 2014 – 2016 between 26% and 28%
-
Foreign currency translation expected to have a slightly negative
impact on earnings
-
Interest expense expected to be about $140MM
-
1% reduction in average diluted shares outstanding as a result of
share repurchases
CHINA DIVISION NOVEMBER SALES
November same-store sales increased an estimated 1% for the China
Division. This estimate included even sales at KFC and 7% growth at
Pizza Hut Casual Dining. It is important to note a limited-time “Half
Priced” bucket promotion yielded an approximate 16% increase in KFC
same-store sales for the first 10 days of the month. This promotion
ended on November 10th. KFC same-store sales were down
approximately 8% for the remainder of November. This particular
promotion will not be repeated in December.
As a reminder, the fourth quarter for the China Division includes the
months of September, October, November and December. We will release our
December same-store sales, which will be our final monthly sales
release, for the China Division on January 13, 2014.
2013 ANNUAL INVESTOR MEETING
The Annual Investor Meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 4, 2013
from 8:45 am to 2:00 pm EST in New York City. The theme is “Recognizing
the Power of Yum!: On the Ground Floor of Global Growth.” The company
will share its plan to continue to be the defining global company that
feeds the world, as well as present a business update and take questions
on its strategies and global expansion outlook. This meeting will be
webcast live and a replay of this webcast will be available following
the event. The webcast and presentations will be available online
through the Yum! Brands Investor Relations website at http://www.yum.com/investors.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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;
publicity that may impact our business and/or industry; pending or
future litigation and legal claims or proceedings; the impact or threat
of any widespread illness or outbreaks of viruses or other diseases;
consumer preferences and perceptions of our brands; the success of our
refranchising strategy; significant changes in global economic
conditions, including consumer spending, consumer confidence and
unemployment; 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; competition within the retail food industry,
including with respect to price and quality of food products, 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 130 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.
Yum! Brands, Inc.
Analysts:
Steve Schmitt, 888-298-6986
Vice
President Investor Relations
or
Donny Lau, 888-298-6986
Director
Investor Relations
or
Media:
Virginia Ferguson,
502-874-8200
Director Public Relations
Source: Yum! Brands, Inc.