(Reuters) -Restaurant Brands topped market expectations for quarterly revenue and profit on Wednesday, helped by strong performance at its brands Burger King and Tim Hortons, sending shares of the company up about 3% in premarket trading
Burger King, like other fast-food chains such as McDonald’s and Taco Bell-parent Yum Brands, has been offering combo options for as little as $5 and $7, which has helped it bring back some traffic in the last six months.
Consumers in the United States last year had trimmed their spending on dining out which had become far more expensive than it used to be a few years ago.
This hurt sales at Burger King and put a strain on U.S.-listed shares of Restaurant Brands, which fell more than 16% last year.
The company’s Tim Hortons chain has, however, benefited from several quarters of strong growth, particularly in Canada, where it operates over 5,700 outlets under the banner.
Tim Hortons revenue grew to $1.03 billion in the three months ended December 31, compared with $1.02 billion a year ago.
The unit accounted for 44.7% of the company’s total revenue in the reported period.
Like other companies in the restaurant space, the Burger King-parent has also worked to increase efficiency and reduce costs in the kitchen, as well as within the supply chain.
The company is in the midst of remodelling Burger King stores in the U.S., which includes upgrading equipment.
Restaurant Brands reported fourth-quarter revenue of $2.30 billion, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $2.28 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Peer Yum Brands also handily beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter earnings last week, helped by strong demand at its Tex-Mex chain, Taco Bell, earlier this month.
Restaurant Brands, which also owns the Popeyes brand, reported adjusted earnings per share of 81 cents for the fourth quarter, topping estimates of 78 cents.
(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
