Yum Brands Reports Mixed Q4, CFO Says It's 'A Stronger Company'

Yum Brands YUM reported fourth-quarter earnings of $1 per share Thursday, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $1.14 by 12.28%.

This is a 150% increase over earnings of 40 cents per share from the same period last year.

The company reported quarterly sales of $1.694 billion, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $1.66 billion by 2.05%. This is an 8.73% increase over sales of $1.558 billion in the same period last year.

"Fourth-quarter results were a solid end to the year where we met or exceeded each component of our guidance, including full-year 2019 core operating profit growth, which was an increase of 12%, or 11% excluding the 53rd week," CFO Chris Turner said in a statement.

“I'm especially pleased that we opened over 1,000 net new units in the fourth-quarter alone. We've emerged from our transformation a stronger company, and I look forward to accelerating the growth of our iconic brands, championing the customer experience and unlocking further value for our stakeholders." 

Yum China Holdings Inc YUMC, which spun off from Yum, said Wednesday that it has been impacted by the coronavirus. 

Yum China said that it has temporarily closed more than 30% of its stores as it seeks to protect employees and customers from the impact of the virus. The separate company reported 40-50% reduced sales year-on-year in the restaurants that have remained open since the Lunar New Year.

Yum Brands shares were trading down 4.48% at $102 in Thursday’s premarket session. The stock has a 52-week high of $119.72 and a 52-week low of $88.52.

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Photo by Coolcaesar via Wikimedia.