Yum! Brands Inc. Reports First-Quarter 2008 EPS of $0.50 per share, 19% Growth Excluding Special Items

2008-04-23
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  • Yum Brands Raises Full-Year EPS Growth Forecast to 11% from 10%, Excluding Special Items

    Yum! Brands Inc. today reported results for the first
    quarter ended March 22, 2008.

    First-quarter Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $0.50 included the
    benefit of a one-time gain from the sale of our minority interest in
    KFC Japan, and charges related to our long-term plan for U.S. brands
    transformation, including refranchising losses and charges related to
    business restructuring. Excluding these special items, EPS was $0.42
    or 19% growth, which the company believes is a better indication of
    the underlying first-quarter performance.

    FIRST-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

    -- Very strong system-sales growth of +40% in mainland China and
    +15% in Yum! Restaurants International (YRI), fueled by
    same-store-sales growth, strong unit development, and
    favorable foreign currency translation

    -- Worldwide same-store-sales growth of +4%, including +12% in
    mainland China, +5% in YRI, and +3% in the U.S. (all figures
    are system-wide)

    -- Operating profit growth of +33% in China Division and +18% in
    YRI. Worldwide operating profit growth of +13% excluding the
    benefit of special items

    -- A quarterly record of nearly $1 billion in share buybacks

    -- EPS growth as outlined below:


    First Quarter
    2008 2007 % Change
    ------ ----- --------
    EPS $0.50 $0.35 +43
    Less: Special Items(1) $0.08 - NM
    EPS Excluding Special Items $0.42 $0.35 +19


    (1) Special items of $0.08 include $100 million pre-tax gain from
    the sale of minority interest in KFC Japan, $26 million of U.S.
    refranchising pre-tax losses, and $6 million of pre-tax charges
    related to U.S. restructuring.

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    FULL-YEAR OUTLOOK

    The Company raised its full-year 2008 EPS forecast from $1.85 to
    $1.87 per share or 11% growth. This is prior to full-year net gains
    from special items of up to $0.06 per share as previously announced in
    the Company's full-year 2007 earnings release on February 4, 2008.
    Full-year EPS is expected to total up to $1.93, including all items.

    David C. Novak, Chairman and CEO, said, "I am pleased to report a
    strong start to 2008 with first-quarter EPS growth of +19% excluding
    special items, led by outstanding operating-profit growth from our
    China and YRI businesses. The global growth we are achieving in China
    and YRI is among the best in the retail sector as we are driving
    robust same-store-sales growth, record-level new-unit development and
    excellent returns. In fact, we fully expect in 2008, for the eighth
    straight year, to open at least 1,000 new restaurants outside the
    U.S., reinforcing our position as the leading international retail
    developer. While our U.S. profits are being challenged by significant
    commodity pressure, we achieved 3% system same-store-sales growth, and
    we remain confident in the steps we are taking to position the U.S.
    brands for sustainable growth. Importantly, we continue to return
    significant cash to our shareholders. During the first quarter, we
    repurchased $1 billion of our shares at a price we believe created
    significant shareholder value. Overall, this quarter again highlighted
    the power of our global portfolio, and on the strength of our
    first-quarter results, we are raising our full-year EPS forecast to
    11% growth, or $1.87 per share excluding special items.

    "Shareholders should expect us to continue building consistent
    value by differentiating our portfolio of brands and driving
    profitable global expansion through our four key strategies that make
    us not your ordinary restaurant company: building leading brands in
    China in every significant category, driving aggressive international
    expansion and building strong brands everywhere, dramatically
    improving U.S. brand positions, consistency and returns, and driving
    industry-leading, long-term shareholder and franchisee value."

    CHINA DIVISION



    ($ million, except restaurant counts %
    and percentages) First Quarter Change
    -----------------
    2008 2007 Reported Excl F/x
    ------- ----- -------- --------
    Traditional Restaurants-Mainland China
    (MLC) 2,640 2,202 +20 NA
    KFC 2,201 1,881 +17 NA
    Pizza Hut Casual Dining 362 273 +33 NA
    Pizza Hut Home Service 59 39 +51 NA
    System-Sales Growth % +38 +28
    MLC system-sales growth % +40 +30
    MLC Same-Store-Sales Growth % NA +12
    Restaurant Margin % 21.3 22.9 (1.6) (1.7)
    Operating Profit 101 76 +33 +23



    CHINA DIVISION COMMENTS

    -- Mainland China delivered an outstanding same-store-sales
    growth of 12%, lapping a strong 9% last year.

    -- We opened 88 new units in mainland China, exceeding last
    year's development pace and further strengthening our
    leadership position in China's rapidly growing restaurant
    category.

    -- Restaurant margin percentage declined due primarily to high
    food cost inflation. Commodity costs increased by
    approximately $11 million versus last year.

    -- Foreign currency conversion benefited operating profit by $8
    million.

    YUM! RESTAURANTS INTERNATIONAL DIVISION (YRI)



    ($ million, except restaurant counts %
    and percentages) First Quarter Change
    -----------------
    2008 2007 Reported Excl F/x
    ------ ------ -------- --------
    Traditional Restaurants 12,275 11,791 +4 NA
    System-Sales Growth % +15 +9
    Same-Store-Sales Growth % NA +5
    Franchise & License Fees 145 121 +20 +14
    Operating Margin % 20.0 17.4 +2.6 +2.3
    Operating Profit 139 119 +18 +11



    YRI DIVISION COMMENTS

    -- YRI achieved same-store-sales growth of 5%, lapping 7% from
    2007.

    -- We opened 158 new restaurants in our YRI Division, 96% of
    which were opened by our franchise partners. YRI continues to
    build an enviable development track record.

    -- Franchise fees, a key driver of our high-return business, grew
    by 20% and is expected to reach approximately $650 million for
    the full year.

    -- The strength of foreign currencies versus the U.S. dollar
    benefited operating profit by $7 million.

    -- The loss of a VAT exemption in our Mexico business adversely
    impacted restaurant margin percentage by approximately 1
    percentage point and operating profit by $5 million during the
    first quarter. As previously communicated, this loss is
    expected to negatively impact restaurant margin percentage by
    1.2 percentage points and operating profit by more than $30
    million for the full-year 2008.

    UNITED STATES BUSINESS



    ($ million, except restaurant counts First Quarter
    and percentages) 2008 2007 % Change
    ------------- ------ --------
    Traditional Restaurants 17,919 18,050 (1)
    Same-Store-Sales Growth %
    System +3 (3) NM
    Company +3 (6) NM
    Franchisee Sales 3,052 2,932 +4
    Company Sales 1,034 1,051 (2)
    Franchise & License Fees 157 149 +5
    Restaurant Margin % 12.4 13.3 (0.9)
    Operating Margin % 13.2 13.8 (0.6)
    Operating Profit 157 165 (5)



    U.S. BUSINESS COMMENTS

    -- The U.S. business delivered same-store-sales growth of 3%,
    reversing last year's negative trend.

    -- Restaurant margin percentage and operating profit declined due
    largely to significant commodity inflation (cheese, wheat and
    chicken costs). Overall, commodity costs increased $25 million
    compared to prior year.

    -- As part of our long-term plan to transform our U.S. business
    -- which includes building permanent sales layers, investing
    in brand repositioning, refranchising and restructuring -- we
    previously guided that we are expanding our refranchising of
    U.S. company-owned restaurants, with company ownership to
    potentially reach below 10% by year-end 2010. We remain
    confident in our ability to achieve this goal, and expect
    subsequent quarters' activity in 2008 to be higher than the
    relatively low rate during the first quarter.

    SHAREHOLDER PAYOUTS

    During the first quarter of 2008, we purchased 27.7 million shares
    at an average price of $35.39, or a total of $981 million, a quarterly
    record.

    For 2008, we expect to return over $2 billion to shareholders
    through both dividends and significant share buybacks.

    Q2 2008 UPDATE

    -- We expect a special item loss in the range of $0.01 to $0.03
    per share due to the continuation of our U.S. business
    transformation, including refranchising losses and
    restructuring charges.

    -- Tax rate is likely to be significantly higher than the
    second-quarter 2007 tax rate of 21.5%

    -- U.S. restaurant margin will be adversely impacted by continued
    higher commodity costs (at a level similar to first-quarter's
    inflation) and dramatically higher insurance expenses.

    YUM! ONGOING EARNINGS GROWTH MODEL

    -- China Division operating-profit growth of 20%. This growth is
    driven largely by new-unit development in mainland China. Our
    key metric for mainland China is system-sales growth with an
    annual target of +20% driven by at least 425 new-restaurant
    openings.

    -- YRI Division operating-profit growth of 10%. This growth is
    driven mainly by new-unit development, measured by
    system-sales growth of at least 5% (3% to 4% unit growth and
    2% to 3% same-store-sales growth) including 750 new-restaurant
    openings.

    -- U.S. operating-profit growth of 5% with same-store-sales
    growth of 2% to 3% and leverage of the G&A infrastructure.

    -- EPS growth of at least 10%. This reflects additional benefit
    from reduction in shares outstanding due to substantial share
    buybacks.


    2008 First-Quarter End Dates 2008 Second-Quarter End Dates
    ----------------------------------- --------------------------------

    International Division 2/25/2008 International Division 5/19/2008
    China Division 2/29/2008 China Division 5/31/2008
    U.S. Business 3/22/2008 U.S. Business 6/14/2008

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