Pizza Hut Parent Yum! Brands Posts Mixed Q4 Results

Yum! Brands Inc YUM reported fourth-quarter FY21 sales growth of 8.4% year-on-year, to $1.89 billion, beating the consensus of $1.88 billion.
Worldwide same-store sales for the quarter grew 5%, with 5% at KFC Division, 8% at Taco Bell, and 3% at Pizza Hut.
Worldwide system sales excluding foreign currency translation grew 9%, with KFC at 10%, Taco Bell at 11%, and Pizza Hut at 4%.
Franchise and property revenues increased 9.3% to $820 million, and Company sales rose 5.4% Y/Y to $597 million.
Total costs and expenses rose 10% Y/Y to $1.4 billion. The operating margin was 26.5%, and operating income for the quarter rose 4.1% to $502 million.
Yum! Brands' net cash from operating activities in twelve months rose 30.7% Y/Y to $1.7 billion. It held $771 million in cash and equivalents as of December 31, 2021.
Adjusted EPS of $1.02 missed the analyst consensus of $1.09.
"We opened an astounding 4,180 gross units in 2021, marking the strongest growth year in Yum!'s history and setting a restaurant industry record for unit development. We also reached new heights in digital sales that topped $22 billion," said CEO David Gibbs.
Price Action: YUM shares are trading higher by 0.89% at $124.97 in premarket on the last check Wednesday.