Restaurant Brands' share price has hit a record high after the company served up one of the best financial results in its history.
KFC restaurant logo Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski
Its full-year net profit rose by more than 19 percent to $23.8 million for the 53 weeks to 2 March, compared with a year earlier.
The New Zealand fast food operator, which also owns Pizza Hut, Starbucks and Carl's Junior, said record sales of KFC helped drive total sales 12.8 percent higher to $372.6 million.
It said speciality items such as the Kiwi Onion Dip Burger and Double Down were behind KFC's record $265 million in sales, which accounted for 71 percent of overall revenue.
Despite strong competitve pressures, the company said KFC's strong growth was expected to continue.
Pizza Hut and Starbucks Coffee also delivered solid same-store sales growth.
The new Carl's Junior brand continued to grow, with three newly-built stores and seven newly-bought franchise stores bringing the total number of burger restaurants to 18.
The company said it expected labour costs to rise this year after getting rid of controversial zero-hour contracts for casual staff.
Restaurant Brands has increased its full-year dividend by 15 percent to 19 cents per share.
