YUM! Brands Inc, the owner of the Pizza Hut and KFC restaurant chains, has posted a 14 percent first-quarter profit gain that exceeded analysts' estimates on increased sales in China, its fastest-growing region.

Net income rose to US$194 million, or 70 US cents a share, from US$170 million, or 59 US cents, a year earlier, Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum said on Tuesday in a statement. The company boosted its profit forecast for the year, Bloomberg News reported.

Operating profit in China, where Yum will open 400 restaurants this year, climbed 31 percent. The company has expanded overseas as it faces increased competition in the US from McDonald's Corp and Burger King Holdings Inc and slumping sales at its Taco Bell chain following an E. coli outbreak and a rat infestation.

"It's another very, very solid quarter even with big hiccup at Taco Bell," said Whitney Tilson, who oversees about US$172 million at T2 Partners in New York. "They are growing like gangbusters in China, where particularly KFC is one of the top brands."

Sales climbed seven percent to US$2.22 billion. Shares of Yum! Brands increased US$1.26, or 2.04 percent, to US$63.12 on Tuesday.

Source:佚名