Restaurant Brands chief executive Russell Creedy is happy with the performance of its Starbucks chain, despite sales continuing to fall.
The fast food operator, which also owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Carl's Junior, has been trying to reverse the fall for years, by closing stores and reducing prices.
Starbucks same store sales for the year ending 25 February fell 1.7% to $25 million.
Six Starbucks stores were closed during the year, including three large cafes in Christchurch's red zone.
Mr Creedy said Starbucks has been hit by the earthquakes and changing demographics have meant that some of the original stores that opened up to 15 years ago have had to be closed as people have moved on and retail areas have changed.
He said Restaurant Brands hopes to reopen a Starbucks in central Christchurch, but two of the Starbucks in the red zone have been demolished, while the third is uninhabitable.
Mr Creedy said Starbucks is a small business in the portfolio, but it is cash positive and profitable and gives a reasonable return on the investment.
