Yum! Brands Q4 profit declines 12%;adjusted earnings beat consensus

Restaurant chain operator Yum! Brands Inc. (YUM), Tuesday announced that fourth quarter profit declined 12% from last year, hurt by charges, and negative impact from foreign currency translation. Excluding charges, earnings grew over the year-ago, and exceeded the analysts' expectations. Further, the company said it expects earnings to decline in the first quarter 2009. The company also reaffirmed its earnings growth for 2009.

Yum! Brands, which owns Pizza Hut and the KFC chain, reported that net income for the fourth quarter was $204 million, down 12% from $231 million in the prior year quarter. Earnings per share were $0.43, down 3% from $0.44 in the previous year quarter. Excluding charges, earnings were $0.46 per share for the latest quarter.

Yum Brands Q4 Earnings release

Earnings conference call transcript