YUMC Yum China Holdings Inc

Record Second Quarter Revenue Led by Same-store Transaction Growth and New Unit Growth
Improved OP Margin and Achieved Record Second Quarter Operating Profit
Operating Profit Grew 4%, Core Operating Profit¹ Grew 12%, Diluted EPS Grew 17%
Record First Half Openings of 779 Net New Stores and Cash Returns to Shareholders of Nearly $1 Billion

SHANGHAI, China, Aug. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Yum China Holdings, Inc. (the "Company" or "Yum China") (NYSE: YUMC and HKEX: 9987) today reported unaudited results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024.

Second Quarter Highlights

• Total system sales grew 4% year over year ("YoY"), excluding foreign currency translation ("F/X"), on top of last year's high base. The growth was primarily attributable to 8% of net new unit contribution.²
• Total store count reached 15,423 as of June 30, 2024, including 10,931 KFC stores and 3,504 Pizza Hut stores. The Company opened 401 net new stores in the quarter. 99 net new stores, or 25%, were opened by franchisees.
• Total revenues increased 1% YoY to $2.68 billion, a record-high for the second quarter. Excluding F/X, total revenues would have been $85 million higher, or a 4% increase YoY.
• Same-store sales reached 96% of the prior year's level. Same-store transactions grew 4% YoY.
• Operating profit grew 4% YoY to $266 million, a record level for the second quarter. Excluding F/X, operating profit would have been $9 million higher, or a 7% increase YoY. Core operating profit¹ grew 12% YoY to $275 million.
• OP Margin³ was 9.9%, an increase of 20 basis points YoY, supported by resilient restaurant margins and savings in G&A expenses.
• Restaurant margin was 15.5%. Excluding $12 million in items affecting comparability, restaurant margin was approximately the same as the second quarter last year. Improvement in operational efficiencies supported margin stability.
• Diluted EPS increased 17% YoY to $0.55, a record level for the second quarter, or up 19% YoY excluding F/X.
• Delivery sales grew 11% YoY, maintaining the double-digit growth Yum China has carried over the past decade. Delivery contributed approximately 38% of KFC and Pizza Hut's Company sales.
• Digital sales⁴ reached $2.2 billion, with digital ordering accounting for approximately 90% of total Company sales.
• Total membership of KFC and Pizza Hut exceeded 495 million. Member sales accounted for over 65% of KFC and Pizza Hut's system sales in aggregate.
• Yum China returned $249 million to shareholders in the second quarter through share repurchases and cash dividends. Year to date, the Company has returned nearly $1 billion to shareholders, exceeding its full-year 2023 returns.

Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China, commented, "We achieved our most profitable second quarter since the spin-off, with core operating profit growing by 12% despite challenging industry dynamics. Our sharp focus on value-for-money and innovative new products worked well, driving robust same-store transaction growth. We took proactive actions to improve operational efficiency, stabilizing restaurant margin and expanding OP margin year over year."

Wat added, "By reducing the complexity of menus and operations, and harnessing the power of automation and AI, we improved operational efficiency. These measures gave us the flexibility to invest in menu innovation and compete on value. KFC has successfully gained market share on delivery platforms by expanding its price range and lowering delivery fees. Pizza Hut attracted value-conscious customers with its entry-price pizzas and solo diners with its Pizza Dough Burger. Our business model breakthroughs enabled us to broaden our addressable market and capture more customer occasions. Our side-by-side KCOFFEE cafe and Pizza Hut WOW store model delivered incremental sales and showed great future potential. Our new stores maintained good returns, with a consistent payback period of 2 years for KFC and an improved level of 2 to 3 years for Pizza Hut. With our industry-leading capabilities and scale, we are turning challenges to our competitive advantage. We believe that we are well positioned to capture the long-term growth opportunities in China and, ultimately, create enduring value for our shareholders." 

Key Financial Results

KFC

• System sales for KFC grew 5% YoY for the quarter, on top of high base last year, primarily driven by net new unit contribution of 8%.
• KFC opened 328 net new stores during the quarter. 74 net new stores, or 23%, were opened by franchisees. Total store count reached 10,931 as of June 30, 2024.
• Operating profit was $264 million. Core operating profit was $273 million for the quarter, up 4% YoY.
• Restaurant margin was 16.2% for the quarter. Excluding items affecting comparability, restaurant margin decreased by 60 basis points against a strong comparison in the second quarter of 2023, primarily due to increased value-for-money offerings to drive traffic and wage inflation, partially offset by favorable commodity prices and improved operational efficiency.
• Delivery sales grew 12% YoY, contributing approximately 38% of KFC's Company sales for the quarter. Off-premises dining accounted for approximately 67% of KFC's Company sales.

Pizza Hut

• System sales for Pizza Hut grew 1% YoY for the quarter, on top of high base last year, primarily driven by net new unit contribution of 8%.
• Pizza Hut opened 79 net new stores during the quarter. Total store count reached 3,504 as of June 30, 2024.
• Operating profit grew 13% YoY to $40 million, a record level for the second quarter. Core operating profit was $41 million, up 23% YoY.
• Restaurant margin was 13.2% for the quarter. Excluding items affecting comparability, restaurant margin was up 110 basis points YoY. Higher operational efficiency offset the impact of increased value-for-money offerings and wage inflation, resulting in an increased margin.
• Delivery sales grew 6%, contributing approximately 38% of Pizza Hut's Company sales for the quarter. Off-premises dining accounted for approximately 48% of Pizza Hut's Company sales.

Returns to Shareholders

• Yum China repurchased 5.1 million shares of common stock for $187 million in the quarter. As of June 30, 2024, $666 million remained available for future share repurchases under the current authorization program.
• Yum China's board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.16 per share on Yum China's common stock, payable on September 17, 2024 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 27, 2024.
• In the first half of 2024, the Company returned a record $994 million to shareholders, including buying back 21.7 million shares of common stock, which is equivalent to over 5% of its outstanding shares as of December 31, 2023.

Outlook

The Company's targets for the 2024 fiscal year remain unchanged from the prior period's disclosures.

• Open approximately 1,500 to 1,700 net new stores.
• Make capital expenditures in the range of approximately $700 million to $850 million.
• Return a Company record-setting $1.5 billion to shareholders through quarterly cash dividends and share repurchases.

Note on Non-GAAP Measures

Reported GAAP results include items that are excluded from non-GAAP measures. See "Reconciliation of Reported GAAP Results to Non-GAAP Measures" and "Segment Results" within this release for non-GAAP reconciliation details.

Conference Call

Yum China's management will hold an earnings conference call at 8:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Monday, August 5, 2024 (8:00 a.m. Beijing/Hong Kong Time on Tuesday, August 6, 2024).

A live webcast of the call may be accessed at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/qibtjiz2.

To join by phone, please register in advance of the conference through the link provided below. Upon registering, you will be provided with participant dial-in numbers, a passcode and a unique access PIN.

Pre-registration link:            https://s1.c-conf.com/diamondpass/10039799-9htky1.html 

A replay of the conference call will be available one hour after the call ends until Tuesday, August 13, 2024 and may be accessed by phone at the following numbers:

Additionally, this earnings release, the accompanying slides, as well as the live and archived webcast of this conference call will be available at Yum China's Investor Relations website at http://ir.yumchina.com. 

For important news and information regarding Yum China, including our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, visit Yum China's Investor Relations website at http://ir.yumchina.com. Yum China uses this website as a primary channel for disclosing key information to its investors, some of which may contain material and previously non-public information.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "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, including under "2024 Outlook." 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 generally can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and by the use of forward-looking words such as "expect," "expectation," "believe," "anticipate," "may," "could," "intend," "belief," "plan," "estimate," "target," "predict," "project," "likely," "will," "continue," "should," "forecast," "outlook," "commit" or similar terminology. These statements are based on current estimates and assumptions made by us in light of our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that we believe are appropriate and reasonable under the circumstances, but there can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the future strategies, growth, business plans, investments, store openings, capital expenditures, dividend and share repurchase plans, CAGR for system sales, operating profit and EPS, earnings, performance and returns of Yum China, anticipated effects of population and macroeconomic trends, pace of recovery of Yum China's business, the anticipated effects of our innovation, digital and delivery capabilities and investments on growth and beliefs regarding the long-term drivers of Yum China's business. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and could cause our actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by those statements. We cannot assure you that any of our expectations, estimates or assumptions will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are only made as of the date of this press release, and we disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law. Numerous factors could cause our actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: whether we are able to achieve development goals at the times and in the amounts currently anticipated, if at all, the success of our marketing campaigns and product innovation, our ability to maintain food safety and quality control systems, changes in public health conditions, our ability to control costs and expenses, including tax costs, as well as changes in political, economic and regulatory conditions in China, and those set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q). In addition, other risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial could affect the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. You should consult our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (including the information set forth under the caption "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q) for additional detail about factors that could affect our financial and other results.

About Yum China Holdings, Inc.

Yum China is the largest restaurant company in China with a mission to make every life taste beautiful. The Company has approximately 400,000 employees and operates over 15,000 restaurants under six brands across more than 2,100 cities in China. KFC and Pizza Hut are the leading brands in the quick-service and casual dining restaurant spaces in China, respectively. In addition, Yum China has partnered with Lavazza to develop the Lavazza coffee concept in China. Little Sheep and Huang Ji Huang specialize in Chinese cuisine. Taco Bell offers innovative Mexican-inspired food. Yum China has a world-class, digitalized supply chain, which includes an extensive network of logistics centers nationwide and an in-house supply chain management system. Its strong digital capabilities and loyalty program enable the Company to reach customers faster and serve them better. Yum China is a Fortune 500 company with the vision to be the world's most innovative pioneer in the restaurant industry. For more information, please visit http://ir.yumchina.com.

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