Profit at the company that runs Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC restaurants more than tripled during the first quarter and same-store sales surged as coronavirus restrictions began to lift this year.
Yum Brands earned $326 million (€269 million) for the period ending March 31st, which last year was marked by exploding Covid-19 infections in the US.
In that three-month stretch last year, the company’s profit fell to $83 million, compared with $262 million in the same three months in 2019.
So the bounceback for the company’s restaurants was better than pre-pandemic levels.
Revenue jumped 18 per cent to $1.49 billion, beating expectations.
Sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge of a restaurant operator’s health, climbed 9 per cent.
KFC’s same-store sales increased 14 per cent in the US, while Pizza Hut’s grew 16 per cent. Those results were double its performances overseas.
