The fourth quarter recently closed for Yum! Brands, and the company has good news to report. Ending on December 31, 2022, the company’s fourth quarter GAAP EPS was $1.29, an increase of 17 percent. Overall, its sales saw growth of 8 percent with $24 billion in digital sales.
“2022 was a landmark year for Yum! as we beat our own industry record for unit development, opening an incredible 4,560 gross new units,” David Gibbs, Chief Executive Officer, said. “Despite a challenging environment, we achieved widespread system sales growth of 8 percent excluding Russia with $24 billion in digital sales, demonstrating that our iconic brands are more relevant, easy, and distinctive than ever. I’m confident that our distinct competitive advantages including our world-class franchisees and the industry’s best talent will drive accelerated growth in the future.”
Yum! Brands previously entered into a sale and purchase agreement to transfer ownership of its Russian KFC restaurants, operating system, master franchise rights, and the network of KFC franchised restaurants to Smart Service, a business operated by one of the company’s existing KFC franchisees in Russia.
According to the release, the buyer will be responsible for rebranding locations to a non-Yum! concept and retaining employees in Russia under the agreement. Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory and governmental approvals, as well as other conditions. Following the completion of the transaction, the company will have ceased its corporate presence in Russia.
“Our fiscal 2022 results delivered on our raised long-term growth algorithm with record-setting net new unit growth and 4 percent same-store sales growth. Despite inflationary pressures and a 2-point negative impact from Russia, we delivered 6 percent Core Operating Profit growth—a testament to the strength of our enterprise,” Chris Turner, Chief Financial Officer, said. “We remain focused on executing the strategies underlying our Recipe for Good Growth to drive our business forward. I'm also pleased to announce our Board of Directors approved an increased quarterly dividend of $0.605.”
To learn more about the results and to see the financial report in full, click here.
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