News

Burger King Q3 momentum comes from international growth

October 29, 2013

Burger King Worldwide reported financial results for Q3 earlier this week, which included strong momentum from international markets and a social lift from the brand's late September Satisfries launch.

"We grew comparable sales across all three international regions and opened 133 net new restaurants globally," said CEO Daniel Schwartz. "We believe that new products like (Satisfries) combined with our focus on improving operations will enhance the guest experience and drive increased restaurant profitability. Our exceptional franchisees, partners and employees are aligned to execute on our strategy and we expect to finish 2013 strong."

Q3 highlights include:

• Global comparable sales increased 0.9 percent and systemwide sales increased 4.9 percent in constant currency
• Net restaurant growth of 133, a 111.1 percent increase from the prior year
• U.S. and Canada comp sales up 0.3 percent
• EMEA comp sales up 2.4 percent
• LAC comp sales up 2.1 percent
• APAC comp sales up 3.7 percent

During presentation, executives provided an overview of the company's Satisfries launch, Sept. 24. On that day, the rollout was the No. 1 Twitter story. It received 1 billion media impressions in the first week, and 2.5 billion by the third week, they said.

The company attributes the flat U.S. and Canada sales to softness in consumer spending offset by multi-tiered promotional strategies. The "2 for $5" special, $1 Fry Burger and 50-cent soft serve cones helped drive traffic.

Burger King experienced positive momentum from international markets, and is accelerating expansion in many of them. There are now 13,259 total Burger Kings throughout the world, with 7,404 of them located in the U.S. and Canada.

EMEA systemwide sales growth of 10 percent reflects the impact of 296 net new restaurant openings, an 86 percent increase from the prior year. LAC systemwide sales growth of 17.3 percent includes the positive impact of 171 net new restaurant openings, a 64 percent increase compared to the prior year.

APAC system-wide sales growth of 14.1 percent was partly due to 174 net new restaurant openings, a 120 percent increase from the prior year. The majority of net restaurant growth was in China.

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