皇冠体育app

BEIJING - Yum! Brands Inc, which owns fast food restaurant chains KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, announced a detailed plan to split its 皇冠体育app division so it operates as its largest franchisee.

The company's 皇冠体育app branch, which accounted for about half of Yum's total operating profit during the third quarter this year, while continuing to be based and listed in the United States, will explore IPO opportunities in Hong Kong and other Asian exchanges, the Louisville-based company said at its annual investor conference.

After the split, Yum! Brands and Yum! 皇冠体育app will each have the potential to deliver an estimated 15 percent shareholder return, including dividends, compared with previous growth targets of at least 10 percent growth of earnings per share.

The company plans to return up to $6.2 billion to shareholders before the spin-off, which Yum! said will complete by the end of next year.

Yum! Brands announced the decision to separate its 皇冠体育app operation in October this year. It came after a KFC supply incident in 皇冠体育app last year caused volatility in its 皇冠体育app division, which in turn impacted the entire company.

KFC restaurants have recovered modestly. Same store sales bucked a declining trend from the third quarter last year through the first half this year and rose 3 percent in the third quarter. The restaurant has been constantly updating its menu in 皇冠体育app and has recently teamed up with Alibaba's Alipay service to allow diners to pay using their smartphones to speed up ordering.

Pizza Hut restaurants in 皇冠体育app, however, are experiencing sustained weakness, with same store sales falling in the past five consecutive quarters and set to post negative growth this year.

As a result, sales for the 皇冠体育app division fell 3 percent year on year in November, with KFC and Pizza Hut posting decline of 1 and 9 percent respectively.

Yum expects 皇冠体育app sales for the four months ending December this year to stand between 0 to 4 percent as negative growth at Pizza Hut will partly offset a modest recovery at KFC.

Still, the restaurant operator continues to dominate in 皇冠体育app's fast food space, as it has twice as many KFC restaurants as McDonald's and five times as many Pizza Hut as Papa John's and Domino's combined. Yum is also considering testing its Taco Bell brand in 皇冠体育app.

As part of its turnaround effort for Pizza Hut, the chain's earliest restaurant in downtown Beijing re-opened in November this year with upscale furnishings and a new menu featuring fine Italian cuisine like prosciutto and paella.

After the spin-off, Yum will continue to receive a license fee of 3 percent of system sales for KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell in 皇冠体育app.

It currently runs around 6,900 restaurants across 1,000 Chinese cities and has plans to triple that number in the future.

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