Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) stock rose 3.29% (As on Feb 9, 12:01:55 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company posted mixed results for the fourth quarter of FY 21 as higher costs weighed on profits, leading to an earnings miss. Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut all saw company restaurant margins shrink during the quarter. Across the restaurant industry, operators have been dealing with higher food, freight and labor costs. Yum reported same-store sales growth of 5% compared with the year-ago period and 4% on a two-year basis. Taco Bell reported the highest jump in same-store sales growth of Yum’s portfolio. The Mexican-inspired chain saw its same-store sales climb 8% after several weaker quarters, hurt by a lack of late-night and morning customers. KFC’s same-store sales rose 5% in the quarter. In the U.S., its second-largest market, same-store sales jumped 4%. Its domestic market accounts for less than a fifth of its system-wide sales. Shrinking system-wide sales in China, its largest market, weighed on the chain’s overall same-store sales growth. Pizza Hut reported same-store sales growth of 3%. The pizza chain’s U.S. same-store sales ticked up just 1% in the quarter as the market faced tough comparisons to last year’s same-store sales growth. In the U.S., Pizza Hut has been trying to mount a comeback, an effort that was initially helped by soaring demand for its pizza during lockdowns.

YUM in the fourth quarter of FY 21 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $1.02, missing the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $1.09, according to analysts by Refinitiv. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 8 percent to $1.89 billion in the fourth quarter of FY 21, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $1.88 billion.

Moreover, Worldwide system sales grew 9% excluding foreign currency translation, with KFC at 10%, Taco Bell at 11%, and Pizza Hut at 4%. The company has added 1,678 gross units during the fourth quarter. Taco Bell Division opened 195 gross new restaurants during the quarter. Pizza Hut Division opened 571 gross new restaurants during the quarter. KFC Division opened 904 gross new restaurants during the quarter.

Additionally, the company has declared a dividend of $0.57 per share of common stock. The quarterly dividend will be distributed March 11, 2022 to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 18, 2022. The company had repurchased 5.6 million shares totaling $720 million at an average price per share of $128.