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May 19 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands Asia RESR.NS, the India franchisee of Burger King, reported a narrower fourth-quarter loss on Monday, as its affordable menu appealed to cost-conscious customers.

The company reported a net loss of 562.8 million rupees ($6.6 million) for the three months ended March 31, compared with a loss of 852.60 million rupees a year earlier.

Indian operators of U.S. chains such as Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonald's MCD.N and Burger King QSR.TO face a double blow, as they grapple not only with stiff competition from local rivals but also shrinking consumer spending due to high living costs and slow wage growth.

To counter this, they have relied on cheaper menu options to draw in diners.

In the last quarter, Restaurant Brands Asia introduced deals such as a bundle of two vegetarian burgers at 79 rupees and two chicken burgers at 99 rupees.

Such efforts helped its overall revenue climb nearly 6% to 6.33 billion rupees. Same-store sales at Burger King restaurants across India increased 5.1%, led by a growth in dine-in traffic.

Cheaper menu items also helped McDonald's franchisee Westlife Foodworld WEST.NS double its profit last quarter, although KFC and Pizza Hut franchisee Sapphire Food India SAPI.NS flagged a longer road to recovery, pressured by competition from delivery-focused Domino's, operated by Jubilant FoodWorks JUBI.NS.

Restaurant Brands Asia, however, has slowed its new store openings. It added just three new stores last quarter, out of a total of 58 for the April-March fiscal year.

It continues to focus on keeping diners through such efforts as last month's limited-time "Korean Spicy Fest" menu, which included burgers, chicken wings and fries, to cash in on the buzz around K-culture.

($1 = 85.3820 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

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By Shivani Tanna and Praveen Paramasivam

May 5 (Reuters) - India's Jubilant FoodWorks' JUBI.NS strong sales growth for the March quarter is set to outpace rivals whose franchisees are expected to report muted growth despite value-focused promotions, several analysts said.

Operators of U.S. chains KFC YUM.N, McDonald's MCD.N and Burger King QSR.TO are likely to report a decline to mid-single-digit growth in same-store sales, as inflation-hit consumers cut back and local competition intensifies, according to six brokerages.

Jubilant, however, has already flagged a 12.1% increase in like-for-like sales in India in its quarterly update, which analysts say has benefited from its focus on online sales, discounts on third-party platforms, and a waiver of delivery fees on app orders.

Other franchisees have not issued sales updates. Sapphire kicks off earnings for the sector on Wednesday.

"Competitive intensity is growing in fried chicken and burger and the larger existing players like KFC and McDonald's don't have anything different to offer versus rivals," said Karan Taurani, an analyst at Elara Securities.

"Jubilant is performing the best of the lot," Taurani said, adding that its investments into 20-minute in-house delivery and app-led orders are helping reduce its reliance on third-party platforms, which rivals are heavily dependent on.

India's fast-food sector is cooling as inflation-hit consumers cut back, with franchisees relying on discounts to stay competitive in a crowded market.

Unlike Jubilant, which has pushed delivery and app-based offers, KFC and McDonald's franchisees rely more on dine-in traffic and face growing pressure from local cafes and restaurants, analysts said.

Jubilant reported a 34% jump in consolidated revenue to 21.07 billion rupees ($250.05 million) for the March quarter.

While Jubilant's digital strategy has delivered steady outperformance through the year, analysts expect its profit margins — like those of other operators — to remain under pressure in the March quarter, partly due to rising raw material and marketing costs.

Three brokerages expect Jubilant's core earnings margin — a metric the restaurant operator aims to boost over the next few quarters by tightening its costs — to be unchanged from a year earlier.

However, some analysts see fried chicken as a key long-term growth category, despite the challenge of sameness.

"If you see from a longer-term perspective, the next growth driver is the overall fried chicken category in India, but there would be some pressure for one or two quarters," said Preeyam Tolia of Axis Securities.

($1 = 84.2630 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Shivani Tanna and Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru and Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

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March 26 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd RESR.NS:

• RESTAURANT BRANDS ASIA LTD - APPROVING CLOSURE OF THE QIP ISSUE

• RESTAURANT BRANDS ASIA LTD - APPROVING ISSUE PRICE OF 60 RUPEES PER SHARE FOR QIP

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: RESR.NS

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March 24 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd RESR.NS:

• ANNOUNCES OPENING OF QUALIFIED INSTITUTIONS PLACEMENT

• FLOOR PRICE FOR QIP AT 62.32 RUPEES PER SHARE

Source text: ID:nBSE37nGQ9

Further company coverage: RESR.NS

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** Indian restaurant operator stocks jump between 3% and 10% after slew of demand-boosting measures in union budget

** Zomato ZOMT.NS and Swiggy SWIG.NS soar 6.5% and 7%, respectively

** Both were hit hard by cooling demand over last two months

** Among restaurant operators, Pizza Hut and KFC India franchisee Sapphire Foods SAPI.NS gains the most; Burger King's Indian operator Restaurant Brands Asia's RESR.NS up 3%, rising the least

** Domino's franchisee Jubilant Foodworks JUBI.NS gains 5%, Pizza Hut's other Indian operator Devyani Internatinal adds ~7%; McDonald's franchisee Westlife Foodworld WEST.NS advances 8.8%

** Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says those earning up to 1.28 mln rupees ($14,791.53)/year won't have to pay any taxes

($1 = 86.5360 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru)

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Jan 29 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands Asia RESR.NS, the India franchisee of Burger King, reported a wider third-quarter loss on Wednesday, weighed by high costs and inflation-hit customers cutting back on dining out.

The company reported a net loss of 504 million rupees ($5.82 million) for the three months ended Dec. 31, from a loss of 361.8 million rupees a year earlier.

Same-store sales at Indian Burger King restaurants slipped 0.5%, with the restaurant operator blaming "flat demand."

Global fast-food chains, including Burger King and McDonald's, have been doubling down on cheaper options over the last few quarters to attract India's price-sensitive customers amid high inflation.

Burger King offered some of the cheapest deals in the industry in the country, including a bundle of two vegetarian burgers at 79 rupees and of two chicken burgers at 99 rupees.

This, along with opening more outlets, propped up the company's revenue by 5.8% to 6.39 billion rupees.

Its total store count in India stood at 510, up 69 from last year and 46 from the previous quarter.

However, the company was also affected by high prices of ingredients, which led to an 8.5% increase in total expenses to 7.03 billion rupees.

Cafe chain Tata Starbucks and pizza group Papa John's International PZZA.O, meanwhile, have said they are rethinking their India plans amid subdued consumer sentiment.

Earlier in the day, Restaurant Brands Asia's rival Westlife Foodworld WEST.NS, the operator of McDonald's MCD.N in India, reported a 59% drop in quarterly profit.

Restaurant Brands International QSR.TO, which has Burger King restaurants in more than 100 countries, will report quarterly results on Feb. 12, according to its website.

($1 = 86.5340 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai and Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)

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Dec 20 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd RESR.NS:

• TO RAISE FUNDS UPTO 5 BILLION RUPEES

• TO RAISE FUNDS VIA QIP

Further company coverage: RESR.NS

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Dec 17 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd RESR.NS:

• RESTAURANT BRANDS ASIA LTD - TO CONSIDER PROPOSAL FOR FUND RAISING

Source text: ID:nBSEb9Nljw

Further company coverage: RESR.NS

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** Shares of India's McDonalds's operator Westlife Foodworld WEST.NS rise as much as 5.2% to 837.4 rupees, its highest since Sept. 27

** Goldman Sachs reiterates street high PT of 1,045 rupees, maintains "buy" rating

** Says positive impact of co's menu interventions expected to drive growth in Q3

** Co says confident of delivering positive same-store sales growth in Q3, will be better than peers, during interaction with GS

** Guest count to see decent growth in Q3, aided by soft base in year-ago quarter- GS

** More than 252,000 shares change hands, 2.2x its 30-day avg

** Rivals Domino's operator Jubilant Foodworks JUBI.NS rated "hold", KFC franchisees Devyani International DEVY.NS and Sapphire Foods SAPI.NS rated "buy" and Burger King operator Restaurant Brands Asia RESR.NS also at "buy"

(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru)

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Nov 29 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd RESR.NS:

• RESTAURANT BRANDS ASIA - SAMEER PATEL RESIGNS AS CFO

Further company coverage: RESR.NS

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Nov 11 (Reuters) - Jubilant FoodWorks JUBI.NS, which operates the Domino's Pizza DPZ.N brand in India, posted a smaller-than-expected fall in second-quarter profit on Monday, as cheaper menu items attracted budget-conscious customers.

Consolidated net profit fell to 640.5 million rupees ($7.59 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30 from 972 million rupees a year earlier.

Analysts had estimated 635.2 million rupees, according to data compiled by LSEG.

($1 = 84.3550 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam and Ashna Teresa Britto; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

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Oct 28 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands Asia RESR.NS, the India franchisee of Burger King, reported a wider second-quarter loss on Monday, as budget-conscious consumers reduced spending.

Global fast-food chains are struggling to attract consumers in India, a highly price-sensitive market where consumers have been cutting back on discretionary spending due to rising prices of essentials, including food.

Burger King launched some of the cheapest menu items and deals in the industry in India, including two vegetarian burgers at 79 rupees ($1) and two pizza puffs at 59 rupees this year.

However, this was not enough to offset a demand slowdown and a surge in expenses, with Restaurant Brands Asia's loss widening to 601.7 million rupees ($7.2 million) for the three months ending Sept. 30, from 460.3 million rupees a year earlier.

Revenue rose 1%, the slowest in more than three years, to 6.32 billion rupees.

Same-store sales growth, a barometer of customer retention, at Indian restaurants of the chain fell 3%, compared with a 3.5% growth a year ago "due to subdued demand", Restaurant Brands Asia said in an investor presentation.

Its expenses rose 3% to 6.98 billion rupees.

The franchisee added 60 stores in India from a year earlier, taking its overall store count to 464 at September-end.

Earlier in the day, Sapphire Foods India SAPI.NS, which operates Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants in the country, posted a surprise quarterly loss.

Westlife Foodworld WEST.NS, the operator of McDonald's restaurants in west and south India, last week reported a sharp drop in quarterly profit.

Yum Brands YUM.N franchisee Devyani International DEVY.NS and Domino's India operator Jubilant FoodWorks JUBI.NS have yet to report.

($1 = 84.0490 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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Oct 11 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd RESR.NS:

• APPOINTS TARA SUBRAMANIAM AS CHAIRPERSON

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE8YsRpm

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** Shares of Westlife Foodworld WEST.NS rise as much as 9.2% to 957 rupees, highest since Oct. 6

** Goldman Sachs upgraded stock to 'buy' with a street high PT of 1,075 rupees, as per a Moneycontrol report

** Goldman Sachs expects recovery potential from new product launches like the McCrispy platform, report adds

** More than 3.8 mln shares change hands, 30x its 30-day avg

** Twenty analysts covering the stock on avg have a 'hold' rating; median PT is 870.5 rupees - LSEG data

** Stock up ~14% so far this month vs a ~7% rise in Domino's restaurant operator Jubilant Foodworks JUBI.NS and a 3% rise in Burger King India franchisee Restaurant Brands Asia RESR.NS

(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru)

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Sept 26 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd RESR.NS:

• ENTERED INTO LOAN AGREEMENT WITH UNIT PT SARI BURGER INDONESIA

• DEAL TO GRANT LOAN FOR 248.7 MILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nNSE1V8dnt

Further company coverage: RESR.NS

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** Shares of Jubilant FoodWorks JUBI.NS up 8.3% to 648.6 rupees, their highest since Feb. 2022

** The Domino's India franchisee reported near two-fold jump in Q1 profit on Friday

** Stock eyes busiest trading session since November 2022, volumes 6x the 30-day avg

** Analysts' avg rating on stock is "Hold", in line with rating on peer Westlife Foodworld WEST.NS while Restaurant Brands Asia RESR.NS, Sapphire Foods SAPI.NS are rated "Buy", per LSEG data

** Median PT on JUBI is 567 rupees - a 5.3% discount on last close

** Stock up 15% YTD vs 13% gains in SAPI, 4% fall in RESR and ~3% loss in WEST

(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru)

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July 29 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd RESR.NS:

• RESTAURANT BRANDS ASIA Q1 CONSOL NET LOSS 493.6 MILLION RUPEES

• RESTAURANT BRANDS ASIA Q1 CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 6.47 BILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: RESR.NS

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** Shares of Westlife Foodworld Ltd WEST.NS fall 2.6% to 835.35 rupees

** WEST reports 89% drop in Q1 profit, hurt by higher expenses and mostly unchanged rev

** Frail demand leads to fourth-straight quarterly profit drop for West and South India McDonald's MCD.N restaurants operator

** WEST and Domino's restaurant operator Jubilant Foodworks JUBI.NS rated "hold" on avg vs "buy" for Burger King India franchisee Restaurant Brands Asia RESR.NS - LSEG data

** Stock trims YTD gains to 3.4% but still leads pack

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru)

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** Shares of Burger King's India operator, Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd RESR.NS, rise as much as 4.6% to 113.5 rupees

** Around 4.6 mln shares (around 0.92% stake) bought by HDFC Mutual Fund in a bulk deal on July 4 - exchange data

** Shares bought at 110.46 rupees per share, 1.8% more than last close price

** Stock on track to gain for 3rd straight day

** More than 13 mln shares traded as of 12:43 p.m. IST, 4.6x their 30-day avg

** Mean rating of 11 brokerages rating the stock is "buy"; their median PT is 125 rupees - LSEG data

** RESR gained 13.9% so far this week, adding to YTD gains of ~1.2%

(Reporting by Meenakshi Maidas in Bengaluru)

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May 16 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd RESR.NS:

• SEES 700 RESTAURANTS COUNT IN INDIA BY FY27

• SEES ABOUT 69% GROSS PROFIT IN INDIA BY FY27

• IN INDONESIA, SEES CASH BREAKEVEN IN FY25

Further company coverage: RESR.NS

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** Shares of Westlife Foodworld WEST.NS, the McDonald's MCD.N India operator, were down 4.6% at 764 rupees

** India's Maharashtra state to inspect restaurant operators to check if they use cheese alternatives in products while promoting them as real cheese after McDonald's crackdown, Reuters reports

** Shares of Domino's DPZ.N operator Jubilant Foodworks JUBI.NS down ~1% and KFC operator Devyani International DEVY.NS down ~4%

** DEVY was already down on the day on a block deal

** Sapphire Foods SAPI.NS and Restaurant Brands Asia, RESR.NS operators of Pizza Hut and Burger King's, respectively, rose

** WEST set for worst day since Oct. 27, the day after it reported a surprise Q2 profit drop

** All restaurant operators rated "buy" on avg, except for JUBI, which is rated "hold" - LSEG data

(Reporting by Varun Vyas in Bengaluru)

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** Shares of Restaurant Brands Asia RESR.NS up 3.8% after the Indian operator of Burger King and Popeyes chains reports narrower Q3 loss

** Prabhudas Lilladher, Antique Stock Broking raise PT on co, with Prabhudas' new PT of 151 rupees being a Street high - LSEG

** Prabhudas sees positive outlook in India ops; on improved store traffic, strong growth in smaller towns

** Antique expects strong performance from co, backed by margin expansion on menu innovation, expansion of chains and improvement in Indonesia business

** Avg rating of 10 analysts, including Prabhudas and Antique, is an equivalent of 'buy' - LSEG

** The median PT is now 130 rupees, up from 126 rupees as of Dec. 30

(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru)

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Jan 29 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd RESR.NS:

• RESTAURANT BRANDS ASIA DEC-QUARTER CONSOL NET LOSS 361.8 MILLION RUPEES VERSUS LOSS 504.2 MILLION RUPEES

• RESTAURANT BRANDS ASIA DEC-QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 6.04 BILLION RUPEES VERSUS 5.26 BILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nNSEc063pG

Further company coverage: RESR.NS

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** Kotak Institutional Equities picks Sapphire Foods SAPI.NS as its preferred stock in quick service restaurants (QSR) space

** SAPI, which rose 6.3% in 2023, marginally down at 1,446 rupees; has avg "buy" rating- LSEG data

** SAPI, a franchise of Yum Brands YUM.N, offers good growth at reasonable valuations with weaker sales trend in industry - Kotak

** Brokerage says demand weakness that hit QSR industry in November 2022 has continued due to broader slowdown in discretionary consumption

** Adds same-store sales growth remained subdued in Q3 despite a weak base, late festive season and Cricket World Cup

** Combination of aggressive store additions and demand

weakness has weighed on profitability of QSR cos in FY24- Kotak

** Cuts FY2024-26 EBITDA estimates across cos like Jubilant Industries JUBL.NS, Westlife Foodworld WEST.NS, Sapphire, Devyani International DEVY.NS, Restaurant Brands Asia RESR.NS by 5-11%

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; (+91 9945291420); Reuters Messaging: [email protected]))

** Shares of India-based Restaurant Brands Asia RESR.NS up 2.5% at 116.30 rupees, trimming earlier gains of 5%

** Over 1.5 mln shares of Burger King India franchisee traded in one block deal at 112.45 rupees apiece - LSEG data

** Over 8.2 mln shares traded, highest since mid-September and 3.7x the 30-day avg

** The mean rating of 10 analysts tracking RESR equivalent to "buy"; median PT is 126 rupees - LSEG data

** Among rivals, Sapphire Foods India SAPI.NS, Devyani International DEVY.NS and Westlife Foodworld WEST.NS are rated close to equivalent of "buy", while Jubilant FoodWorks JUBI.NS is rated "hold" - LSEG

** In Dec-qtr, RESR, SAPI, DEVY, WEST fell 10.3%, 2.2%, 9.6%, 12.6%, respectively, while JUBI rose 6%

(Reporting by Ashish Chandra in Bengaluru)

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Jan 2 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd RESR.NS:

• RECEIVED TAX ORDER FOR AN AMOUNT OF 4.4 MILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nNSE8x1y98

Further company coverage: RESR.NS

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Dec 7 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd RESR.NS:

• UNIT EXECUTED FACILITY AGREEMENT WITH AXIS BANK LIMITED FOR AVAILING SECURED TERM LOAN FACILITY

• AGREEMENT FOR AVAILING SECURED TERM LOAN FACILITY FOR UPTO $17.54 MILLION

Source text for Eikon: ID:nNSE7qX55Q

Further company coverage: RESR.NS

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BENGALURU, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands Asia RESR.NS, the franchisee of Burger King India, reported a narrower quarterly loss on Wednesday as it added more outlets in the country and expanded its menu.

Consolidated net loss narrowed to 460.3 million rupees ($5.5 million) in the three months to Sept. 30, from a loss of 499.5 million rupees a year earlier.

Burger King India expanded its menu during the quarter to include more chicken items and also offered promotions on certain meals, helping increase footfall at its restaurants and accrue higher average bill values, analysts said.

Restaurant Brands, which added 10 Burger King outlets during the period, also benefitted from more people visiting malls, where it has a bigger presence than other fast food chains, they added.

Its revenue from operations rose 16% to 6.25 billion rupees.

Even so, same-store sales growth, a barometer of customer retention, at Indian Burger King restaurants slowed to 3.5% from 27% a year earlier.

The company's expenses rose 15%, led by an over 20% spike in the cost of ingredients.

Several fast food chains, including Burger King, removed ingredients such as tomatoes and cheese from their menus to cut back spending during the quarter.

Rival fast food chain operators such as KFC operator Devyani International DEVY.NS, Pizza Hut operator Sapphire Foods India SAPI.NS, McDonald's operator Westlife Foodworld WEST.NS, and Domino's India franchisee Jubilant FoodWorks JUBI.NS all reported a decline in quarterly profit.

Shares of Restaurant Brands fell as much as 2.1% after the results, before reversing course to rise as much as 3.3%.

They have risen 6.5% so far this year. Devyani and Westlife have each risen 2% and 3% this year, while Sapphire and Jubilant have fallen 4% and 0.5%, respectively.

($1 = 83.2560 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Varun Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

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Oct 9 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd RESR.NS:

• APPROVED AVAILING SECURED TERM LOAN FACILITY FROM AXIS BANK

• APPROVED AVAILING OF SECURED TERM LOAN FACILITY OF 1.50 BILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE44HWQH

Further company coverage: RESR.NS

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** The cricket World Cup campaign beginning on Oct. 5 in India will boost sectors like quick service restaurants (QSR), food delivery, beverages, hotels and airlines, Jefferies said in a note

** Jefferies expects companies to run World-Cup specific promotions on match days to tap consumption boost

** Says, consumption spurt is evident in flight and hotel bookings; fares have shot up on India match days

** Adds, expect a surge in media activity in coming weeks; Nifty media index .NIFTYMED up 1.7%

** There should be negative impact on footfalls for movie theatres, theme parks, and offline brick-and-mortar retailers - Jefferies

** QSR stocks like Restaurant Brands Asia RESR.NS, Devyani International are up 4% and 1.2%, respectively, food delivery co Zomato ZOMT.NS up 2.5% on Thursday

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR in Bengaluru)

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