Yum Brands Inc

Fast-food chain operator Yum Brands Inc. said its fourth-quarter profit fell 3.8% on costs for software and expensing stock options. Net income dropped to $226 million from $235 million a year earlier. Per-share profit was unchanged at 77 cents after the company bought back shares during the year. Fourth-quarter sales rose 4.1% to $2.9 billion, the Louisville, Ky.-based company said. Same-store sales at Yum rose 4% in the U.S., led by 7% increases at Taco Bell and KFC.

Yum Brands Inc. said first-quarter profit rose 11% because of higher sales at its KFC and Taco Bell restaurant chains. Net income climbed to $170 million, or 59 cents a share, from $153 million, or 50 cents, a year earlier. Revenue gained 1.5% to $2.09 billion, the Louisville, Ky.-based company said. Earnings beat analysts' estimates by 2 cents share, according to Thomson Financial. Yum raised its profit forecast for 2006 to as much as $2.81 a share from an earlier projection of $2.79.

Fast-food company Yum Brands Inc. posted a 12% rise in fiscal third-quarter earnings and boosted its outlook for the year as strong performances in China and other foreign markets offset weaker sales in the U.S. Net income for the quarter ended Sept. 9 rose to $230 million, or 83 cents a share, from $205 million, or 69 cents, a year earlier. Revenue edged up to $2.28 billion from $2.24 billion, despite a slide in U.S. sales for the quarter.

Fast-food giant Yum Brands Inc. posted a 10% gain in fourth-quarter profit Tuesday, fueled by robust international earnings and strong gains domestically at Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. The company raised its earnings outlook for 2005. For the quarter ended Dec. 25, Yum reported net income of $235 million, or 77 cents a share, up from $214 million, or 70 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.

Yum Brands Inc. posted a 16% increase in fiscal third-quarter profit on the strength of resurgent growth in China coupled with solid U.S. performances by its Taco Bell and KFC restaurant brands. Louisville, Ky.-based Yum reported net income of $214 million, or 72 cents a share, up from $185 million, or 61 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 2.8% to $2.24 billion. Yum shares gained 56 cents to $48.83.

* Yum Brands Inc., the operator of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC restaurant chains, said second-quarter earnings rose 46%, boosted by higher sales outside the U.S. The company also raised its annual forecast. Shares of Louisville, Ky.-based Yum rose 31 cents to $37.01 on the NYSE.

Yum Brands Inc., operator of the Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC restaurant chains, plans to open 300 restaurants a year in China, its fastest-growing market. Yum is focusing its expansion in Asia. China will overtake the U.S. in sales for Yum at some point, Chief Executive David Novak said. China is already the Louisville, Ky.-based company's second-biggest market in terms of profit, the company has said. Yum has more than 1,200 stores in China, led by KFC locations.

Yum Brands Inc., the operator of the KFC and Pizza Hut fast-food chains, said fourth-quarter earnings rose 4.8%, helped by increased sales at the company's Taco Bell unit. Net income rose to $172 million, or 56 cents a share, from $164 million, or 54 cents, a year earlier, the company said. Sales rose 12% to $2.46 billion. Sales in restaurants open at least a year rose 1%, led by Taco Bell, which benefited from lower prices and less competition in the Mexican fast-food segment, analysts said.

Yum Brands Inc., the operator of the Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut fast-food chains, said second-quarter earnings fell 13% because it lost a lawsuit over who created a talking dog used in Taco Bell commercials. Net income fell to $122 million, or 40 cents a share, from $140 million, or 45 cents, a year earlier, the Louisville, Ky.-based company said. Sales rose 9.6% to $1.94 billion. In June, Yum was ordered to pay $30.

The parent of KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver's and A&W said Wednesday that it would add product calorie information to menu boards in its company-owned restaurants nationwide. "We believe this is the right leadership role . . . to be providing more information so consumers can make better-informed purchase decisions about the food they eat," Yum Brands Inc. spokesman Jonathan Blum said.