Yum China's profit grows by 10pc to US$911m

Gordon Yang

Yum China (9987), which operates the KFC and Pizza Hut fast food chains in China, saw its net profit grow 10.1 percent to US$911 million (HK$7.1 billion) in 2024.

The company declared a 50 percent increase in its cash dividend, raising it to US$0.24 per share.

Total revenue grew 3 percent year-on-year to US$11.3 billion, marking a record high since its spin-off.

Meanwhile, same-store sales declined 3 percent. Adjusted net profit reached US$910 million, an 8 percent increase year-on-year.

As of the end of 2024, the company added a net total of 1,751 new stores for the year, including 512 franchise stores, bringing the total store count to 16,395. This includes 11,648 KFC stores and 3,724 Pizza Hut stores.

"We are expanding through both company-owned stores and franchise stores and on track to achieve our goal of 20,000 stores by 2026," chief executive Joey Wat Chui-yung said.

Fourth quarter net profit grew 18.6 percent year-on-year to US$115 million, while total revenue rose 4 percent to a record US$2.6 billion.

During the same period, operating profit grew 36 percent year-on-year to US$151 million while core operating profit increased 35 percent. Adjusted net profit rose 11 percent to US$115 million.

For KFC, in the fourth quarter of last year, total revenue increased by 4 percent to US$1.95 billion. For Pizza Hut, total revenue grew by 3 percent to US$510 million.