YUM Yum Brands Inc

By Maria Armental 

Yum Brands Inc. said same-store sales for its struggling China division grew 5% in October, slightly below the September pace of 6%.

Yum said results were boosted by 10% growth at KFC but hurt by a 9% decline at Pizza Hut.

Shares of the company, which have declined 17% over the past three months, climbed 4% to $69.81 in after-hours trading.

The monthly report is the first since Yum said last month that it planned to spin off its Chinese unit, once at the center of the company's expansion plans. The unit, which accounts for about half of total sales, had weighed on results amid food quality concerns.

Yum backed its same-store sales growth guidance for the quarter of flat to 4%, though it reiterated that "same-store sales remain difficult to forecast in China."

Yum, which also owns the KFC and Taco Bell chains, reported an 8% sales increase in China in the third quarter, with sales at established stores there increasing 2%.

Yum had said last month that it planned to start reporting monthly same-store sales for China to provide investors with greater visibility into that business--a move that counters a recent trend against monthly sales updates. Yum used to provide such updates but stopped with the results from December 2013.

Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 12, 2015 17:52 ET (22:52 GMT)

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