(Yicai) Feb. 7 -- Shares of Yum China Holdings rose after the operator of Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut restaurants in the country reported a record annual revenue last year, mainly thanks to income from the fried chicken fast food chain.

Yum China [HKG: 9987] rose 5.1 percent to HKD382.80 (USD49.15) a share as of 3.30 p.m. in Hong Kong today, after earlier surging by as much as 6.8 percent. Its New York-listed stock [NYSE: NUMC] soared 9.1 percent to USD49.65 yesterday.

Revenue climbed 3 percent to USD11.3 billion last year from the previous one, the Shanghai-based company announced yesterday. Net profit jumped 10 percent to USD911 million, it said.

Yum China returned USD1.5 billion to shareholders through cash dividends and share repurchases over the past year, it noted. The firm anticipates opening between 1,600 and 1,800 new stores this year and plans to return USD3 billion to shareholders over the next two years, it added.

In 2024, Yum China opened 1,751 new outlets, including 1,352 KFC and 412 Pizza Hut shops, bringing its total to 16,395 restaurants, it pointed out. Revenue from its 11,648 KFC spots rose 3 percent to USD8.5 billion, while that from its 3,724 Pizza Hut stores climbed 1 percent to USD2.3 billion.

"We closed the year with a strong fourth quarter, propelling us to a number of record highs in 2024," said Joey Wat, chief executive of Yum China. "In the fourth quarter, our system sales growth surpassed the restaurant industry's growth rate."

For the fourth quarter of last year, Yum China saw its net profit surge 18 percent to USD115 million from a year earlier, while revenue rose 4 percent to USD2.6 billion.

"Our same-store sales index improved sequentially to 99 percent of prior year levels, driven by the eighth consecutive quarter of same-store transaction growth," Wat noted. "OP margin expanded by 140 basis points, and restaurant margin increased by 160 basis points, both on a year-over-year basis. We have steadily improved our metrics since the second quarter, with improvement in same-store sales index, margins, and operating profit growth each quarter.

"These results demonstrate the resilience of our business and the effectiveness of our strategy in improving sales and profitability amid challenging market conditions," according to Wat.

Yum China, which spun off from Yum Brands in 2016, operates six restaurant chains in about 2,200 towns and cities in China, employing around 400,000 people. It holds exclusive operation and franchise rights to KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell in the Chinese market while fully owning Little Sheep and Huang Ji Huang chains. It also collaborates with Italy's Lavazza on coffee shops in the country.

Editor: Martin Kadiev