Yum! Brands has reported a 24.7% surge in net income for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023, reaching $463m, compared to $371m a year previously.

For the quarter ended 31 December 2023, the company’s total revenues rose marginally to $2.03bn, marking a 1% increase from the $2.01bn reported in the corresponding quarter of 2022.

The company's worldwide system sales registered 5% growth, driven by a 6% unit growth and a 1% rise in same-store sales.

The KFC division led the charge with a 7% contribution to the system sales growth, followed by Taco Bell and Pizza Hut which contributed 6% and 1% respectively.

KFC's operating profit for the period was $329m, an increase of 6% from the previous year's $310m, with system sales reaching $8.88bn.

Taco Bell's performance was also strong, with an operating profit of $286m, up 16% from $246m in the same period of 2022.

The division expanded its footprint by opening 201 (gross) new restaurants during the quarter.

The Pizza Hut division reported a slight dip in operating profit to $99m, down from $100m a year earlier, despite opening 575 (gross) new restaurants in Q4 2023.

The company's generally accepted accounting principles earnings per share (EPS) stood at $1.62, while EPS excluding special items was reported at $1.26.

Yum! Brands CEO David Gibbs said: “2023 was another remarkable year for Yum! Brands as we crossed the $60 billion system sales threshold and exceeded all aspects of our long-term growth algorithm.

“We achieved 10% system sales growth with broad-based strength across the globe and another record year for development, opening over 4,700 new stores.

“We also made massive strides in scaling our proprietary digital and AI-driven ecosystem in partnership with our franchisees. Looking to 2024, this will be a year of major milestones as we cross 30,000 restaurants at KFC, 20,000 at Pizza Hut and well over 60,000 globally for Yum!”