Burger King's Profit Sizzles Burger King's emphasis on opening new restaurants is paying off, as the chain beat expectations in the second quarter.
By Kate Taylor
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Burger King's new stores are bringing home the bacon (cheeseburger deluxe).
Burger King's profit climbed 19 percent in the second quarter, the company reported on Friday. The company posted earnings of $75.1 million, or 21 cents a share, up from $62.9 million, or 18 cents a share, in the same period a year ago.
Adjusted earnings were 25 cents a share, topping the 23 cents analysts were expecting.
"We ended the first half of the year strong as we grew comparable sales across all four regions and accelerated restaurant openings," said Burger King CEO Daniel Schwartz in a statement.
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Revenues declined 6.1 percent to $261.2 million, which the company attributes to the refranchising of 360 company-owned stores in 2013. The results were in line with expectations.
While same-store sales increased 0.9 percent, up from 0.6 percent for the same period last year, much of Burger King's profit has been driven by opening new restaurants.
Having finished the chain's refranchising push, Burger King is hoping to turn a profit through driven expansion efforts, especially international expansion. While the chain closed 22 locations in the U.S. and Canada in the second quarter, it opened 153 new stores overseas. That brings Burger King to a total of 13,808 stores worldwide, up from 13,126 from last year.
Having nearly 14,000 restaurants is nothing to scoff at, but it gives Burger King plenty of room to grow before it catches up with McDonald's, which has 35,000 total locations, or Yum Brands, which boasts over 40,000 KFCs, Taco Bells and Pizza Huts worldwide.
