Just months after assuming full control of its underperforming Chinese chain, Restaurant Brands International Inc. QSR is moving swiftly to offload its Burger King China operations.
What Happened: On Thursday, during its first quarter earnings call, the fast food holding company revealed that it was classifying its Burger King China subsidiary as “held for sale” on its books, while simultaneously engaging Morgan Stanley Inc. to find a new local “controlling shareholder.”
This comes just months after it acquired its remaining equity interest in Burger King China from its former joint venture partners in February.
Restaurant Brands has already made good progress in restructuring the company over the past three months. “We’ve made great progress in the three months since we bought it,” says Executive Chairman Patrick Doyle.
This involved the closure of several unprofitable stores, a move that was described by CEO Joshua Kobza as “a critical and necessary step to reposition the business for long-term success.”
The unit is already weighing on the company’s finances, according to CFO Sami Siddiqui, who notes that it resulted in a $9 million revenue and operating income headwind during the quarter. “For the full year, assuming no change in ownership, we expect a $37 million impact to revenue and a $19 million impact to AOI [Adjusted Operating Income],” Siddiqui says.
This move underscores the management’s focus on curbing complexity, with Doyle stating, “We’re operating in a moment of peak complexity, but our business will get simpler from here,” adding that “We can’t control the macro environment, but we can control our complexity.”
Why It Matters: Analysts have been increasingly bullish on the stock in recent months, citing strong same-store-sales figures and a turnaround in China operations.
During its first quarter results on Thursday, the company reported $2.11 billion in revenue, up 21.3% year-over-year, with a profit of $0.75 per share, against $0.73 per share a year ago.
Price Action: The stock was down 0.53% on Thursday and is down another 0.34% after hours following its first quarter results.
According to Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings, the stock fares well in the short and medium term, but is unfavorable in the long term. For more insights, sign up for Benzinga Edge.
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