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Aussie Pizza Hut sales drag down Restaurant Brands' Q1 '03 numbers

May 27, 2003

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AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Restaurant Brands, operator of Pizza Hut, KFC and Starbucks outlets in New Zealand and Australia, reported that its first-quarter sales were 7.1 percent higher than a year ago.

According to The Age, sales in the 12 weeks ended May 19 rose to NZ $71.4 million (U.S. $41.7 million) from NZ $66.6 million (U.S. $38.9 million) a year earlier. That includes sales from Australian Pizza Hut stores, which it owned for part of the year-earlier period.

According to Stuff.com, the company's same-store sales across all three brands, however, showed no growth for the period.

Sales at its Pizza Hut stores in New Zealand rose 1.4 percent, while its 49 Red Roof units in Australia brought in a dismal NZ $6.4 million (U.S. $3.7 million).

Restaurant Brands bought 51 Pizza Hut outlets in Australia last year, and has closed two since. The company said the units will reopen as delivery-takeout sites.

According to the Stuffreport, Restaurant Brands said it had strengthened its Australian management through director Danny Diab's closer involvement in operations. During a recent investor meeting, Diab, a 15-year veteran Pizza Hut operator, bristled at shareholder concerns over the pending entry of Domino's Pizza into the Australian market, saying he would "die in a ditch" trying to keep the U.S.-based operation from gaining a foothold there.

The company's share price remained unchanged at NZ $1.37 (U.S. 80 cents) in trading on May 28. According to Bloomberg, the stock's price has slid 12 percent this year.