TORONTO – Strong performances by Burger King and Popeyes restaurants helped parent company Restaurant Brands International (RBI), achieve strong financial results for the third quarter.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2019, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen reported 9.7 percent increase in comparable sales compared with 0.5 percent reported in the third quarter of 2018. Comparable sales at Burger King climbed 4.8 percent compared with 1.0 percent growth last year, which was the brand’s highest quarterly comparable sales growth since 2015.

“During the third quarter, we grew system-wide sales nearly 9 percent through a combination of strong global comparable sales growth and restaurant expansion,” said Jose Cil, CEO of Restaurant Brands International. “At Burger King, we continue to see exciting growth around the world, with our system-wide sales increasing approximately 15 percent internationally for the quarter and the successful launch of our Impossible Whopper driving 5 percent comparable sales growth in the US, our strongest level since 2015.

“Popeyes had one of its best quarters in nearly two decades,” he added, “achieving comparable sales growth of more than 10 percent in the US.”

Tim Hortons comparable sales slipped 1.4 percent compared with a gain of 0.6 percent in the year-ago period. Cil said, “At Tim Hortons, although we had a challenging quarter, we remain confident in the pillars of our Winning Together Plan and are excited about the long-term growth prospects of the Tims brand and business in Canada.”

System-wide sales growth was driven by net restaurant growth of 5.6 percent, the company noted, as well as comparable sales of 9.7 percent, including US comparable sales of 10.2 percent.

Total revenues for the third quarter were $1,458,000,000, an increase from $1,375,000,000 reported in the third quarter of 2018.

Net income attributable to common shareholders and noncontrolling interests was $351,000,000, or $0.75 diluted earnings per share, compared with $250,000,000, or $0.53 diluted earnings per share. The company attributed the increase in net income to growth in segment income, a change in operating expenses (income) and a decrease in income tax expense.