QSR Restaurant Brands International Inc

Consolidated system-wide sales growth of 10.9% year-over-year, up $1.1 billion year-over-year

Global comparable sales of 7.0% driven by 8.1% at TH Canada, 7.6% at BK International and 6.6% at BK US

Double digit year-over-year growth in home market franchisee profitability 

Over $360 million of capital returned to shareholders in Q3 while investing for growth and reducing net leverage

TORONTO, Nov. 3, 2023 /CNW/ - Restaurant Brands International Inc. ("RBI") (TSX: QSR) (NYSE: QSR) (TSX: QSP) today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023. Josh Kobza, Chief Executive Officer of RBI commented, "I am proud of the strength we're seeing across our brands due to the efforts of our franchisees and our teams which helped drive another quarter of double-digit system-wide sales growth and home market franchisee profitability growth. These results reflect our focus on enhancing operations, delivering great guest and team member experiences, and providing great value with the best quality products in each of our brands' respective categories. I am confident we are well positioned to enter 2024 with momentum." 

Third Quarter 2023 Highlights:

• Consolidated comparable sales increased 7.0% and net restaurants grew 4.2% versus the prior year
• System-wide sales increased 10.9% year-over-year
• Net Income of $364 million versus $530 million in prior year
• Adjusted EBITDA of $698 million increased 9.3% organically versus the prior year
• Diluted EPS was $0.79 versus $1.17 in prior year
• Adjusted Diluted EPS of $0.90 decreased (5.6)% organically versus $0.96 in the prior year

Consolidated Operational Highlights

 

 

Consolidated Financial Highlights

 

 

 

We have four operating segments: Tim Hortons (TH), Burger King (BK), Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (PLK) and Firehouse Subs (FHS). Our financial results and operational highlights are disclosed based on these segments each quarter.

The year-over-year increases in Total Revenues on an as reported and on an organic basis were primarily driven by increases in system-wide sales in all of our segments. On an as reported basis the increase was partially offset by unfavorable FX movements which impacted TH.

The year-over-year decrease in Net Income was primarily driven by income tax expense in the current year compared to an income tax benefit in the prior year, an unfavorable change from other operating expenses (income), net, unfavorable FX movements, loss on early extinguishment of debt, an increase in share-based compensation and non-cash incentive compensation expense, and an increase in interest expense, net, partially offset by increases in segment income across all of our segments.

The year-over-year increases in Adjusted EBITDA on an as reported and on an organic basis were largely driven by increases in Adjusted EBITDA across each of our segments.

The year-over-year decrease in Adjusted Net Income was primarily driven by an increase in adjusted income tax expense, an increase in share-based compensation and non-cash incentive compensation expense and an increase in adjusted interest expense, partially offset by increases in Adjusted EBITDA in all of our segments.

Burger King US Reclaim the Flame
In September 2022, Burger King shared the details of its "Reclaim the Flame" plan to accelerate sales growth and drive franchisee profitability. We will be investing $400 million over the life of the plan, comprised of $150 million in advertising and digital investments ("Fuel the Flame") and $250 million in high-quality remodels and relocations, restaurant technology, kitchen equipment, and building enhancements ("Royal Reset").

During the quarter ended September 30, 2023, we funded approximately $2 million toward our Fuel the Flame digital investment, and $10 million toward our Royal Reset investments. As of September 30, 2023, we have funded a total of $33 million toward the Fuel the Flame investments and $45 million toward our Royal Reset investments.

Macro Economic Environment
During 2022 and year-to-date 2023, there were increases in commodity, labor, and energy costs partially due to the macroeconomic impact of both the war in Ukraine and COVID-19. This has resulted in increases in inflation, foreign exchange volatility and rising interest rates which may be exacerbated by the conflict in the Middle East and could have an adverse impact on our business and results of operations if we and our franchisees are not able to adjust prices sufficiently to offset the effect of cost increases without negatively impacting consumer demand.  

In addition, the global crisis resulting from the spread of COVID-19 impacted our restaurant operations during the nine months ended September 30, 2022. Certain markets, including China, were significantly impacted as a result of government mandated lockdowns. These lockdowns, which have since been lifted, resulted in restrictions to restaurant operations, such as reduced, if any, dine-in capacity, and/or restrictions on hours of operation in those markets.

TH Segment Results 

 

 

For the third quarter of 2023, the increase in system-wide sales was primarily driven by comparable sales of 6.8%, including Canada comparable sales of 8.1%, and net restaurant growth of 5.5%.

The year-over-year increases in Total Revenues on an as reported and on an organic basis were primarily driven by an increase in system-wide sales and increase in sales to retailers. The increase in Total Revenues on an as reported basis was partially offset by unfavorable FX movements.

The year-over-year increases in Adjusted EBITDA on an as reported and on an organic basis were primarily driven by the increase in system-wide sales and increase in sales to retailers, partially offset by an increase in cost of sales largely driven by higher year-over-year average cost of inventory. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA on an as reported basis was partially offset by unfavorable FX movements.  

BK Segment Results

 

For the third quarter of 2023, the increase in system-wide sales was driven by comparable sales of 7.2%, including rest of the world comparable sales of 7.6% and US comparable sales of 6.6%, and net restaurant growth of 2.4%.

The year-over-year increases in Total Revenues on an as reported and on an organic basis were primarily driven by the increase in system-wide sales. The increase in Total Revenues on an as reported basis was also driven by favorable FX movements.

The year-over-year changes in Adjusted EBITDA on an as reported and on an organic basis were primarily driven by the increase in system-wide sales and bad debt recoveries in the current year compared to bad debt expenses in the prior year. This was partially offset by higher Segment G&A due to higher compensation-related expenses as well as Advertising Expenses and Other Services exceeding Advertising Revenues and Other Services in the current year to a greater extent than in the prior year period.  The increase in Adjusted EBITDA on an as reported basis was also driven by favorable FX movements.  

PLK Segment Results

 

For the third quarter of 2023, the increase in system-wide sales was driven by net restaurant growth of 11.3% and comparable sales of 7.0%, including US comparable sales of 5.6%.

The year-over-year increases in Total Revenues and Adjusted EBITDA on an as reported and on an organic basis were primarily driven by the increase in system-wide sales.

FHS Segment Results

 

 

For the third quarter of 2023, the increase in system-wide sales was driven by comparable sales of 3.4%, including US comparable sales of 3.9%, and net restaurant growth of 2.6%.

The year-over-year increases in Total Revenues and Adjusted EBITDA were primarily driven by the increase in system-wide sales. In addition, increases in Advertising Revenues and Other Services and Advertising Expenses and Other Services reflect our modification of the Advertising fund arrangements to be more consistent with those of our other brands.

Cash and Liquidity
As of September 30, 2023, total debt was $13.4 billion, net debt (total debt less cash and cash equivalents of $1.3 billion) was $12.1 billion, net income net leverage was 9.1x and Adjusted EBITDA net leverage was 4.8x. During the quarter, we amended our Credit Agreement to increase the availability under the revolver from $1.0 billion to $1.25 billion, to increase the Term Loan A facility to $1.275 billion, to increase the Term Loan B facility to $5.175 billion at an increased rate of SOFR plus 225 basis points, to remove the basis point adjustment to the term SOFR across all facilities, and to extend the maturity of the revolver and the Term Loan A to September 21, 2028 and of the Term Loan B to September 21, 2030.

The RBI Board of Directors has declared a dividend of $0.55 per common share and partnership exchangeable unit of Restaurant Brands International Limited Partnership for the fourth quarter of 2023. The dividend will be payable on January 4, 2024 to shareholders and unitholders of record at the close of business on December 21, 2023.

On August 31, 2023, our Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program that allows us to purchase up to $1,000 million of our common shares until September 30, 2025. This approval follows the expiration of our prior two-year authorization to repurchase up to the same $1,000 million amount of our common shares. Additionally, we repurchased approximately 2.1 million of our common shares for a total of $142 million of which 0.4 million of these repurchases had not yet settled and therefore were not cancelled as of September 30, 2023, and as of September 30, 2023 had $858 million remaining under the authorization.

Subsequent Events

Subsequent to September 30, 2023 through October 31, 2023, we repurchased 5.5 million of our common shares for $358 million and as of October 31, 2023 had $500 million remaining under the share repurchase authorization. 

In October 2023, we entered into new cross-currency rate swap contracts between the Euro and U.S. dollar in which we receive quarterly fixed-rate interest payments on the U.S. dollar aggregate amount of $1,400 million through the maturity date of October 31, 2026. At inception, these cross-currency rate swaps were designated as hedges and are accounted for as net investment hedges. In connection with these new cross-currency rate swaps, we settled our existing cross-currency rate swap contracts between the Euro and U.S. dollar with a notional value of $400 million and $500 million with a maturity date of February 17, 2024 and received $59 million in cash as part of this settlement. 

Investor Conference Call
We will host an investor conference call and webcast at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, November 3, 2023, to review financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023. The earnings call will be broadcast live via our investor relations website at http://rbi.com/investors and a replay will be available for 30 days following the release. The dial-in number is 1 (833)-470-1428 for U.S. callers, 1 (833)-950-0062 for Canadian callers, and 1 (929)-526-1599 for callers from other countries. For all dial-in numbers please use the following access code: 370104.

For further information: Investors: investor@rbi.com; Media: media@rbi.com

About Restaurant Brands International Inc.
Restaurant Brands International Inc. is one of the world's largest quick service restaurant companies with over $40 billion in annual system-wide sales and over 30,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries. RBI owns four of the world's most prominent and iconic quick service restaurant brands – TIM HORTONS®, BURGER KING®, POPEYES®, and FIREHOUSE SUBS®. These independently operated brands have been serving their respective guests, franchisees and communities for decades. Through its Restaurant Brands for Good framework, RBI is improving sustainable outcomes related to its food, the planet, and people and communities. To learn more about RBI, please visit the company's website at www.rbi.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements and information, which reflect management's current beliefs and expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date hereof. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include statements about our expectations regarding the effects and continued impact of the macroeconomic environment from the war in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict in the Middle East, and related macro-economic pressures, such as inflation, rising interest rates and currency fluctuations, on our results of operations, business, liquidity, prospects and restaurant operations and those of our digital, marketing, remodel and technology enhancement initiatives and expectations regarding further expenditures relating to these initiatives, including our "Reclaim the Flame" plan to accelerate sales growth and drive franchisee profitability at Burger King, our commitment to growth opportunities, plans and strategies for each of our brands and ability to enhance operations and drive long-term, sustainable growth, and our suspension of operations in and financial results from Russia. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from RBI's expectations are detailed in filings of RBI with the Securities and Exchange Commission and applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities, such as its annual and quarterly reports and current reports on Form 8-K, and include the following: risks related to unforeseen events such as pandemics; risks related to the supply chain; risks related to ownership and leasing of properties; risks related to our franchisees financial stability and their ability to access and maintain the liquidity necessary to operate their business; risks related to our fully franchised business model; risks related to RBI's ability to successfully implement its domestic and international growth strategy and risks related to its international operations; risks related to RBI's ability to compete domestically and internationally in an intensely competitive industry; risks related to technology; evolving legislation and regulations in the area of franchise and labor and employment law; risks related to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, our ability to address environmental and social sustainability issues and changes in applicable tax and other laws and regulations or interpretations thereof. Other than as required under U.S. federal securities laws or Canadian securities laws, we do not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or circumstances, change in expectations or otherwise.

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(In millions of U.S. dollars, except per share data)
(Unaudited)

 

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In millions of U.S. dollars, except share data)
(Unaudited)

 

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(In millions of U.S. dollars)
(Unaudited)

 

 

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Key Operating Metrics

We evaluate our restaurants and assess our business based on the following operating metrics.

System-wide sales growth refers to the percentage change in sales at all franchise restaurants and Company restaurants (referred to as system-wide sales) in one period from the same period in the prior year. Comparable sales refers to the percentage change in restaurant sales in one period from the same prior year period for restaurants that have been open for 13 months or longer for TH, BK and FHS and 17 months or longer for PLK. Additionally, if a restaurant is closed for a significant portion of a month, the restaurant is excluded from the monthly comparable sales calculation. System-wide sales growth and comparable sales are measured on a constant currency basis, which means that results exclude the effect of foreign currency translation ("FX Impact") and are calculated by translating prior year results at current year monthly average exchange rates. We analyze key operating metrics on a constant currency basis as this helps identify underlying business trends, without distortion from the effects of currency movements.

System-wide sales represent sales at all franchise restaurants and company-owned restaurants. We do not record franchise sales as revenues; however, our royalty revenues and advertising fund contributions are calculated based on a percentage of franchise sales.

Net restaurant growth refers to the net increase in restaurant count (openings, net of permanent closures) over a trailing twelve month period, divided by the restaurant count at the beginning of the trailing twelve month period.

These metrics are important indicators of the overall direction of our business, including trends in sales and the effectiveness of each brand's marketing, operations and growth initiatives.

In our 2022 financial reports, our key business metrics included results from our franchised Burger King restaurants in Russia, with supplemental disclosure provided excluding these restaurants. We did not generate any new profits from restaurants in Russia in 2022 and do not expect to generate any new profits in 2023. Consequently, beginning in the first quarter of 2023, our reported key business metrics exclude the results from Russia for all periods presented.

 

 

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Supplemental Disclosure
(Unaudited)

General and Administrative Expenses

 

 

Other Operating Expenses (Income), net

 

 

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
(Unaudited)

Below, we define the non-GAAP financial measures, provide a reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"), and discuss the reasons why we believe this information is useful to management and may be useful to investors. These measures do not have standardized meanings under GAAP and may differ from similarly captioned measures of other companies in our industry. See reconciliation of these Non-GAAP financial measures in the following pages.

Non-GAAP Measures
To supplement our condensed consolidated financial statements presented on a GAAP basis, RBI reports the following non-GAAP financial measures: EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, LTM Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share ("Adjusted Diluted EPS"), Organic revenue growth, Organic Adjusted EBITDA growth, Organic Adjusted Net Income growth, Organic Adjusted Diluted EPS growth, Free Cash Flow, LTM Free Cash Flow, Net Interest Paid, and Adjusted EBITDA Net Leverage. We believe that these non-GAAP measures are useful to investors in assessing our operating performance or liquidity, as they provide them with the same tools that management uses to evaluate our performance or liquidity and are responsive to questions we receive from both investors and analysts. By disclosing these non-GAAP measures, we intend to provide investors with a consistent comparison of our operating results and trends for the periods presented.

EBITDA is defined as earnings (net income or loss) before interest expense, net, (gain) loss on early extinguishment of debt, income tax (benefit) expense, and depreciation and amortization and is used by management to measure operating performance of the business. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA excluding (i) the non-cash impact of share-based compensation and non-cash incentive compensation expense, (ii) (income) loss from equity method investments, net of cash distributions received from equity method investments, (iii) other operating expenses (income), net, and (iv) income or expense from non-recurring projects and non-operating activities. For the periods referenced, this included non-recurring fees and expenses incurred in connection with the Firehouse Subs acquisition and integration consisting of professional fees, compensation-related expenses and integration costs as well as costs from professional advisory and consulting services associated with certain transformational corporate restructuring initiatives that rationalize our structure and optimize cash movements, including services related to significant tax reform legislation and regulations. Management believes that these types of expenses are either not related to our underlying profitability drivers or not likely to re-occur in the foreseeable future and the varied timing, size and nature of these projects may cause volatility in our results unrelated to the performance of our core business that does not reflect trends of our core operations. Adjusted EBITDA is used by management to measure operating performance of the business, excluding these non-cash and other specifically identified items that management believes are not relevant to management's assessment of our operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA, as defined above, also represents our measure of segment income for each of our four operating segments.

LTM Adjusted EBITDA is defined as Adjusted EBITDA for the last twelve month period to the date reported.

Adjusted Net Income is defined as net income excluding (i) franchise agreement amortization as a result of acquisition accounting, (ii) amortization of deferred financing costs and debt issuance discount, (iii) loss on early extinguishment of debt and interest expense, which represents non-cash interest expense related to losses reclassified from accumulated comprehensive income (loss) into interest expense in connection with interest rate swaps de-designated in May 2015, November 2019 and September 2021, (iv) (income) loss from equity method investments, net of cash distributions received from equity method investments, (v) other operating expenses (income), net, and (vi) income or expense from non-recurring projects and non-operating activities (as described above). 

Adjusted Diluted EPS is calculated by dividing Adjusted Net Income by the weighted average diluted shares outstanding of RBI during the reporting period. Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS are used by management to evaluate the operating performance of the business, excluding certain non-cash and other specifically identified items that management believes are not relevant to management's assessment of operating performance.

Adjusted EBITDA Net Leverage is defined as net debt (total debt less cash and cash equivalents) divided by LTM Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA Net Leverage is an operating performance measure that we believe provides investors a more complete understanding of our leverage position and borrowing capacity after factoring in cash and cash equivalents that eventually could be used to repay outstanding debt.

Revenue growth and Adjusted EBITDA growth, Adjusted Net Income growth and Adjusted Diluted EPS growth on an organic basis, are non-GAAP measures that exclude the impact of FX movements. Management believes that organic growth is an important metric for measuring the operating performance of our business as it helps identify underlying business trends, without distortion from the effects of FX movements. We calculate the impact of FX movements by translating prior year results at current year monthly average exchange rates.

Free Cash Flow is the total of Net cash provided by operating activities minus Payments for property and equipment. Free Cash Flow is a liquidity measure used by management as one factor in determining the amount of cash that is available for working capital needs or other uses of cash, however, it does not represent residual cash flows available for discretionary expenditures. LTM Free Cash Flow is defined as Free Cash Flow for the last twelve-month period to the date reported. 

Net Interest Paid is the total of cash interest paid in the period, cash proceeds (payments) related to derivatives, net from both investing activities and financing activities and cash interest income received. This liquidity measure is used by management to understand the net effect of interest paid, received and related hedging payments and receipts.

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Organic Growth in Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings per Share
(Unaudited)

 

Note: Percentage changes may not recalculate due to rounding.

 

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Reconciliation of Net Income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA
(Unaudited)

 

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS
(Unaudited)

 

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Non-GAAP Financial Measures        
Net Leverage, Reconciliation of Free Cash Flow and Net Interest Paid
(Unaudited)

 

 

 

 

 

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income
(Unaudited)

 

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Footnotes to Reconciliation Tables

 

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SOURCE Restaurant Brands International Inc.