Shares at Yum <YUM.N> rose 3.8 percent after it said first-quarter net income jumped to $254 million, or 50 cents per share, from $194 million, or 35 cents per share, a year earlier.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Yum Brands Inc, operator of the KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut fast-food chains, posted a bigger-than-expected jump in quarterly profit on Tuesday, fueled by growth in China, and raised its full-year forecast.
Shares at Yum <YUM.N> rose 3.8 percent after it said first-quarter net income jumped to $254 million, or 50 cents per share, from $194 million, or 35 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding a gain of 8 cents per share from the sale of a minority interest in KFC Japan and other items, the per-share profit was 42 cents. Analysts, on average, looked for 40 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.
Worldwide sales at stores open at least one year were up 4 percent, including 12 percent growth from mainland China.
!ADVERTISEMENT!Yum raised its forecast for 2008 per-share earnings from $1.85 per share to $1.87 per share, excluding special items that would boost results by 6 cents per share.
Shares rose to $39.95 in extended trade, after closing down 1.5 percent to $38.49 on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
