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 LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Fast-food giant Yum Brands Inc. said Monday that fourth-quarter profits grew 3 percent as strong international sales offset a sagging performance by Taco Bell amid an E. coli outbreak that sickened several dozen customers at some of its East Coast restaurants.
The company, also the parent of KFC and Pizza Hut, said same-store sales at company-owned Taco Bell restaurants fell 5 percent for the three months ended Dec. 30, compared with a 7 percent gain in the year-ago period. Yum said Taco Bell sales reached a low point in the third week of December and have started to recover.
Larry Miller, a restaurant analyst with RBC Capital Markets, said the drop in Taco Bell's same-store sales, or sales in stores open at least one year, was not as severe as he had expected.
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