Burger King India Trims Q3 Losses amidst Soaring Sales

Restaurant Brands Asia, the company managing Burger King and Popeyes franchises in India and Indonesia, announced a reduced third-quarter loss on Monday, driven by robust sales during the festive season.

The firm's overall net loss decreased to Rs 36.18 crore (USD 4.4 million) for the three months concluding on December 31, down from Rs 50.42 crore in the corresponding period the previous year.

However, this marks the seventeenth successive quarterly loss for the company, primarily influenced this time by an almost 10 percent increase in overall expenses.

The company, operating fast-food franchises under Restaurant Brands International, stated that prices of ingredients such as chicken, cheese, tomatoes, and onions experienced a 12.6 percent increase.

Nevertheless, there was a roughly 15 percent rise in revenue for the quarter, supported by increased consumer activity during the Diwali festival in India and the broader Christmas holiday period.

Sales received a lift in India, constituting approximately 74 percent of the total sales, due to the occurrence of certain vegetarian-centric religious periods in September this year, as opposed to October.

In the October-December quarter, the same-store sales growth at Burger King restaurants in India, operated by Restaurant Brands Asia, decelerated to 2.6 percent from the 28 percent recorded in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Competing fast-food chain operators, including Devyani International (KFC operator), Sapphire Foods (Pizza Hut operator), Westlife Foodworld (McDonald's operator), and Jubilant FoodWorks (Domino's India franchisee), have not yet disclosed their financial results.