Yum China sales increase by 5% YoY in 2024

The company increased its cash dividend to 50%.

Yum China's total system sales grew by 5% year-over-year (YoY), driven by 7% of the net new unit contribution.

Same-store sales reached 97% of the prior year's level for the year, whilst total revenues went up by 3% YoY to $11.3b.

Yum China expanded its store network by 12%, adding a net of 1,751 new stores, with franchisees accounting for 512 net openings or 29% of the total.

“We are expanding through both company-owned stores and franchise stores and are on track to achieve our goal of 20,000 stores by 2026,” said Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China.

Additionally, the board declared a 50% increase in the cash dividend, raising it to $0.24 per share on Yum China's common stock.

Wat said that this increase positions the company to return a total of $4.5b to shareholders between 2024 and 2026.