Net income attributable to common shareholders of Restaurant Brands International in the year ended Dec. 31, 2017, was $626.1 million, equal to $2.64 per share on the common stock, up sharply from $345.6 million, or $1.48 per share, the year before. Revenues totaled $4,576.1 million, up 10 percent from $4,145.8 million.
Daniel Schwartz, CEO of Restaurant Brands International |
"Our Tim Hortons business achieved 3 percent system-wide sales growth for the year, primarily driven by net restaurant growth," Schwartz said during a Feb. 12 earnings call. "We achieved some important initiatives at Tim's this year, including launching our mobile app and our espresso-based beverage platform across Canada and the US and opening our first restaurants under our Master Franchise Joint Venture partnerships in each of Asia, Europe and Latin America.
"We had a good year at Burger King, where we achieved comparable sales of 3.1 percent, which, coupled with net restaurant growth of 6.5 percent, led to system-wide sales growth of 10.1 percent. We also achieved important initiatives at BK, including continued acceleration of net restaurant growth, the signing of numerous development agreements and the continued creative promotion of our brand, as recognized through the receipt of several marketing awards, including Creative Marketer of the Year at Cannes Lions.
For the fourth quarter, net income attributable to common shareholders of Restaurant Brands International equaled $395 million, or $1.64 per share, up from $118.4 million, or $0.50, in the year-ago period. Revenues totaled $1,234.2 million, up 11 percent from $1,111.4 million.
During the quarter, comparable sales increased 0.1 percent at Tim Hortons and 4.6 percent at Burger King, while Popeyes comparable sales fell 1.3 percent in the quarter.
Meanwhile, Burger King benefited from "a balanced approach to menu initiatives across price points and products," Schwartz said.
"We continue to innovate around our Bacon King and our Crispy Chicken sandwich, two platforms that performed particularly well in 2017," he said. "We also had several successful value promotions during the quarter that contributed positively to our results, and we believe that maintaining this balanced menu offering to provide our guests with products that they love at great prices will continue to drive further sales growth over the long run."
The company also announced changes to its leadership team. Joshua Kobza, previously chief financial officer since 2013, has been named to the new role of chief technology and development officer. Succeeding him in the CFO role is Matthew Dunnigan, who has served as treasurer since joining the company in 2014.