QSR Restaurant Brands International Inc

Consolidated system-wide sales grow 14%, including 12% at Popeyes, 13% at Tim Hortons and 14% at Burger King

Global comparable sales accelerate to 9%, led by 11% growth at Tim Hortons Canada and 15% at Burger King International

Digital sales grow 26% year-over-year to approximately $3.4 billion, representing a third of system-wide sales

RBI continues to return capital through its industry-leading dividend while investing in its brands and reducing net leverage

TORONTO, Nov. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Restaurant Brands International Inc. ("RBI") (TSX: QSR) (NYSE: QSR) (TSX: QSP) today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2022.

José Cil, Chief Executive Officer of RBI commented, "Our strong results this quarter, including 9% consolidated comparable sales growth and 4% net restaurant growth, reflects the strength of our diversified, global business model, strong free cash flow generation and benefits from our focused investments in key areas including operations, technology, marketing, franchising, and people."

"Tim Hortons remains a loved destination, with strong sales momentum driven by quality new menu items and great value for money, resulting in accelerated comparable sales growth versus 2019 levels.

Additionally, we are proud that our Burger King franchisees are behind our Reclaim the Flame plan to accelerate growth by engaging existing and new guests, with important investments in marketing, operations, digital, and remodels. Internationally, the Burger King business is driving strong results with over 20% system-wide sales growth for the quarter and remains a great example of the power of being guest-led in everything we do.

From a development standpoint, our compelling unit economics and years spent building quality partnerships with franchisees around the world continues to fuel our ability to expand our footprint alongside dedicated, well-capitalized franchisees," continued Cil.

"We are fortunate to own iconic brands that offer great value for money with menu offerings that are loved by our guests. We will continue to provide guests with the value they love while driving results in a profitable way for our franchisees. I am incredibly proud of the hard work from our franchisees, team members and employees as they execute against our plans and work towards our big dream to build the most loved restaurant brands in the world," concluded Cil.

Consolidated Financial Highlights

Commencing upon the acquisition of Firehouse Subs in December 2021, we have four operating segments: Tim Hortons (TH), Burger King (BK), Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (PLK) and Firehouse Subs (FHS). Our financial results and operational highlights are disclosed based on these segments each quarter.

The year-over-year increases in Total Revenues on an as reported and on an organic basis were primarily driven by increases in system-wide sales at Tim Hortons, Burger King and Popeyes. On an as reported basis the increase was also driven by the inclusion of Firehouse Subs, partially offset by unfavorable FX movements.

The year-over-year increase in Net Income was primarily driven by income tax benefit in the current year compared to an income tax expense in the prior year, increases in segment income in our TH and PLK segments, the inclusion of FHS segment income, a favorable change from other operating expenses (income), net, and the non-recurrence of a loss on early extinguishment of debt.  These factors were partially offset by unfavorable FX movements, a decrease in BK segment income, an increase in share-based compensation and non-cash incentive compensation expense, an increase in Corporate restructuring and tax advisory fees, and an increase in interest expense, net.

The year-over-year increase in Adjusted EBITDA on an as reported basis was primarily driven by increases in TH and PLK Adjusted EBITDA as well as the inclusion of FHS Adjusted EBITDA, partially offset by unfavorable FX movements which impacted TH and PLK Adjusted EBITDA and drove a decrease in BK Adjusted EBITDA.

The year-over-year increase in Adjusted EBITDA on an organic basis was primarily driven by increases in TH, BK and PLK Adjusted EBITDA.

The year-over-year increase in Adjusted Net Income was primarily driven by a decrease in adjusted income tax expense, increases in Adjusted EBITDA in our TH and PLK brands and the inclusion of FHS Adjusted EBITDA, partially offset by unfavorable FX movements, a decrease in Adjusted EBITDA in our BK brand, and increases in share-based compensation and non-cash incentive compensation expense.

During the first quarter of 2022, we shared a number of actions that we have taken to date as a result of the events related to Russia's military invasion of Ukraine. Burger King is our only brand with restaurants in Russia, all of which are operated under a master franchise arrangement. We suspended all corporate support for the Russian market, including operations, marketing, and supply chain support in addition to refusing approvals for new investment and expansion.

While we currently include results from our franchised restaurants in Russia within reported key business metrics, we do not expect to generate any profits from restaurants in Russia in 2022. During the third quarter, these restaurants had an estimated $12 million, or 2%, negative impact on our year-over-year organic adjusted EBITDA growth.

Below are the RBI consolidated and BK segment operational highlights excluding the results from Russia for the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021. Refer to page 26 for the RBI consolidated and BK segment quarterly operational highlights excluding the results from Russia for 2021.

The global crisis resulting from the spread of coronavirus ("COVID-19") impacted our global restaurant operations for the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, though in 2022 the impact was more modest than in the prior year. During the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, substantially all restaurants remained open, some with limited operations, such as drive-thru, takeout and delivery (where applicable), reduced, if any, dine-in capacity, and/or restrictions on hours of operation. Certain markets periodically required temporary closures while implementing government mandated lockdown orders. For example, while most regions have eased restrictions, increases in cases and new variants caused certain markets, including China, to re-impose temporary restrictions as a result of government mandates. We expect local conditions to continue to dictate limitations on restaurant operations, capacity, and hours of operation. COVID-19 has also contributed to labor challenges, which in some regions resulted in reduced operating hours and service modes at select restaurants as well as supply chain pressures.

During 2022, there have been increases in commodity, labor, and energy costs partially due to the macroeconomic impact of both COVID-19 and the War in Ukraine. Further significant increases in inflation could affect the global, Canadian and U.S. economies, resulting in foreign exchange pressures and rising interest rates which could have an adverse impact on our business and results of operations if we and our franchisees are not able to adjust prices sufficiently to offset the effect of cost increases without negatively impacting consumer demand.

During the first quarter of 2022 we made a change to the way we report revenues and expenses related to technology initiatives to provide clarity and consistency across our brands and with our industry peers. We had previously included revenue from technology fees in Franchise and property revenues, while the associated technology expenses were included in General and administrative expenses. Starting in the first quarter of 2022, revenue from technology fees will be reported in Advertising revenues and other services, while the associated technology expenses will be reported in Advertising expenses and other services.

Additionally, prior year amounts in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and accompanying BK segment results have been reclassified in order to be comparable with the current year classifications. These reclassifications did not arise as a result of any changes to accounting policies and relate entirely to presentation with no effect on previously reported net income and segment income. Refer to page 27 for the RBI consolidated and BK segment quarterly results for 2021 adjusted for these reclassifications.

TH Segment Results 

For the third quarter of 2022, the increase in system-wide sales was primarily driven by comparable sales of 9.8%, including Canada comparable sales of 11.1%, and net restaurant growth of 5.2%.

The year-over-year increases in Total Revenues on an as reported and on an organic basis were primarily driven by an increase in system-wide sales as well as increases in commodity prices passed on to franchisees and an increase in sales to retailers. The increase in Total Revenues on an as reported basis was partially offset by unfavorable FX movements.

The year-over-year increases in Adjusted EBITDA on an as reported and on an organic basis were primarily driven by the increase in system-wide sales and by advertising revenues exceeding advertising expenses in the current year period compared to advertising expenses exceeding advertising revenues in the prior year period driven by our support behind the marketing program in Canada in the prior year period, partially offset by an increase in Segment G&A. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA on an as reported basis was partially offset by unfavorable FX movements.  

BK Segment Results

For the third quarter of 2022, the increase in system-wide sales was driven by comparable sales of 10.3%, including US comparable sales of 4.0% and rest of the world comparable sales of 15.2%, and net restaurant growth of 2.5%.

The year-over-year increases in Total Revenues on an as reported and on an organic basis were primarily driven by the increase in system-wide sales. The increase in Total Revenues on an as reported basis was partially offset by unfavorable FX movements.

The year-over-year changes in Adjusted EBITDA on an as reported and on an organic basis were primarily driven by the increase in system-wide sales, partially offset by bad debt expenses in the current year compared to bad debt recoveries in the prior year, advertising expenses exceeding advertising revenues in the current year compared to advertising revenues exceeding advertising expenses in the prior year, an increase in expenses related to technology initiatives, and higher Segment G&A largely as a result of hiring across a number of key areas including operations and franchising. On an as reported basis, Adjusted EBITDA was impacted by unfavorable FX movements, resulting in a year-over-year decrease in Adjusted EBITDA.

PLK Segment Results

For the third quarter of 2022, the increase in system-wide sales was driven by net restaurant growth of 8.9% and comparable sales of 3.1%, including US comparable sales of 1.3%.

The year-over-year increases in Total Revenues on an as reported and on an organic basis were primarily driven by the increase in system-wide sales as well as an increase in sales from Company restaurants. The increase in Total Revenues on an as reported basis was partially offset by unfavorable FX movements.

The year-over-year increases in Adjusted EBITDA on an as reported and on an organic basis were primarily driven by the increase in system-wide sales, partially offset by an increase in cost of sales. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA on an as reported basis was partially offset by unfavorable FX movements.

FHS Segment Results

For the third quarter of 2022, the increase in system-wide sales was driven by net restaurant growth of 2.5% and flat comparable sales, which included an increase in US comparable sales of 0.3%.

As of September 30, 2022, total debt was $13.4 billion, net debt (total debt less cash and cash equivalents of $0.9 billion) was $12.5 billion, and net leverage was 5.2x.

The RBI Board of Directors has declared a dividend of $0.54 per common share and partnership exchangeable unit of Restaurant Brands International Limited Partnership for the fourth quarter of 2022. The dividend will be payable on January 4, 2023 to shareholders and unitholders of record at the close of business on December 21, 2022.

In September 2022, Burger King shared the details of its "Reclaim the Flame" plan to accelerate sales growth and drive franchisee profitability. As part of the plan, we will enhance ongoing franchisee investments by investing $400 million over the next two years, comprising $150 million in advertising and digital investments and $250 million in restaurant technology, kitchen equipment, building enhancements, and high-quality remodels and relocations.

We will host an investor conference call and webcast at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, November 3, 2022, to review financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2022. The earnings call will be broadcast live via our investor relations website at http://rbi.com/investors and a replay will be available for 30 days following the release. The dial-in number is 1 (646)-904-5544 for U.S. callers, 1 (226)-828-7575 for Canadian callers, and 1 (929)-526-1599 for callers from other countries. For all dial-in numbers please use the following access code: 152376. For further information:

Investors: investor@rbi.com; Media: media@rbi.com

Restaurant Brands International Inc. is one of the world's largest quick service restaurant companies with over $35 billion in annual system-wide sales and over 29,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries. RBI owns four of the world's most prominent and iconic quick service restaurant brands – TIM HORTONS®, BURGER KING®, POPEYES®, and FIREHOUSE SUBS®. These independently operated brands have been serving their respective guests, franchisees and communities for decades. Through its Restaurant Brands for Good framework, RBI is improving sustainable outcomes related to its food, the planet, and people and communities. To learn more about RBI, please visit the company's website at www.rbi.com.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements and information, which reflect management's current beliefs and expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date hereof. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include statements about our expectations regarding the effects and continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and related macro-economic pressures, such as inflation, rising interest rates and currency fluctuations, on our results of operations, business, liquidity, prospects and restaurant operations and those of our franchisees, including local conditions and government-imposed limitations and restrictions, our digital and marketing initiatives and expectations regarding further expenditures relating to these initiatives, including as a result of our plan to accelerate sales growth and drive franchisee profitability at Burger King, our growth opportunities, plans and strategies for each of our brands and ability to drive long-term, sustainable growth, including through global expansion and restaurant openings, and our suspension of operations in and financial results from Russia. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from RBI's expectations are detailed in filings of RBI with the Securities and Exchange Commission and applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities, such as its annual and quarterly reports and current reports on Form 8-K, and include the following: risks related to unforeseen events such as pandemics; risks related to supply chain; risks related to ownership and leasing of properties; risks related to our franchisees financial stability and their ability to access and maintain the liquidity necessary to operate their business; risks related to our fully franchised business model, including as a result of current and future legislation, regulations and interpretations relating to joint employer status and other labor matters; risks related to RBI's ability to successfully implement its domestic and international growth strategy and risks related to its international operations; risks related to RBI's ability to compete domestically and internationally in an intensely competitive industry; risks related to technology; risks related to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and changes in applicable tax and other laws and regulations or interpretations thereof. Other than as required under U.S. federal securities laws or Canadian securities laws, we do not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or circumstances, change in expectations or otherwise.

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(In millions of U.S. dollars, except per share data)
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RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In millions of U.S. dollars, except share data)
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RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(In millions of U.S. dollars)
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RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Key Operating Metrics

We evaluate our restaurants and assess our business based on the following operating metrics.

System-wide sales growth refers to the percentage change in sales at all franchise restaurants and Company restaurants (referred to as system-wide sales) in one period from the same period in the prior year. Comparable sales refers to the percentage change in restaurant sales in one period from the same prior year period for restaurants that have been open for 13 months or longer for TH, BK and FHS and 17 months or longer for PLK. Additionally, if a restaurant is closed for a significant portion of a month, the restaurant is excluded from the monthly comparable sales calculation. System-wide sales growth and comparable sales are measured on a constant currency basis, which means that results exclude the effect of foreign currency translation ("FX Impact") and are calculated by translating prior year results at current year monthly average exchange rates. We analyze key operating metrics on a constant currency basis as this helps identify underlying business trends, without distortion from the effects of currency movements.

System-wide sales represent sales at all franchise restaurants and company-owned restaurants. We do not record franchise sales as revenues; however, our royalty revenues and advertising fund contributions are calculated based on a percentage of franchise sales.

Net restaurant growth refers to the net increase in restaurant count (openings, net of permanent closures) over a trailing twelve month period, divided by the restaurant count at the beginning of the trailing twelve month period.

These metrics are important indicators of the overall direction of our business, including trends in sales and the effectiveness of each brand's marketing, operations and growth initiatives.

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Supplemental Disclosure
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General and Administrative Expenses

Other Operating Expenses (Income), net

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
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Below, we define the non-GAAP financial measures, provide a reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"), and discuss the reasons why we believe this information is useful to management and may be useful to investors. These measures do not have standardized meanings under GAAP and may differ from similarly captioned measures of other companies in our industry.

Non-GAAP Measures

To supplement our condensed consolidated financial statements presented on a GAAP basis, RBI reports the following non-GAAP financial measures: EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, LTM Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share ("Adjusted Diluted EPS"), Organic revenue growth, Organic Adjusted EBITDA growth, Free Cash Flow, LTM Free Cash Flow and Net Leverage. We believe that these non-GAAP measures are useful to investors in assessing our operating performance or liquidity, as they provide them with the same tools that management uses to evaluate our performance or liquidity and are responsive to questions we receive from both investors and analysts. By disclosing these non-GAAP measures, we intend to provide investors with a consistent comparison of our operating results and trends for the periods presented.

EBITDA is defined as earnings (net income or loss) before interest expense, net, (gain) loss on early extinguishment of debt, income tax (benefit) expense, and depreciation and amortization and is used by management to measure operating performance of the business. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA excluding (i) the non-cash impact of share-based compensation and non-cash incentive compensation expense, (ii) (income) loss from equity method investments, net of cash distributions received from equity method investments, (iii) other operating expenses (income), net, and (iv) income or expense from non-recurring projects and non-operating activities. For the periods referenced, this included non-recurring fees and expenses incurred in connection with the Firehouse Subs acquisition consisting of professional fees, compensation-related expenses and integration costs as well as costs from professional advisory and consulting services associated with certain transformational corporate restructuring initiatives that rationalize our structure and optimize cash movements, including services related to significant tax reform legislation, regulations and related restructuring initiatives. Management believes that these types of expenses are either not related to our underlying profitability drivers or not likely to re-occur in the foreseeable future and the varied timing, size and nature of these projects may cause volatility in our results unrelated to the performance of our core business that does not reflect trends of our core operations. Adjusted EBITDA is used by management to measure operating performance of the business, excluding these non-cash and other specifically identified items that management believes are not relevant to management's assessment of our operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA, as defined above, also represents our measure of segment income for each of our four operating segments.

LTM Adjusted EBITDA is defined as Adjusted EBITDA for the last twelve month period to the date reported. See reconciliation of LTM Adjusted EBITDA in the following pages.

Adjusted Net Income is defined as net income excluding (i) franchise agreement amortization as a result of acquisition accounting, (ii) amortization of deferred financing costs and debt issuance discount, (iii) loss on early extinguishment of debt and interest expense, which represents non-cash interest expense related to losses reclassified from accumulated comprehensive income (loss) into interest expense in connection with interest rate swaps de-designated in May 2015, November 2019 and September 2021, (iv) (income) loss from equity method investments, net of cash distributions received from equity method investments, (v) other operating expenses (income), net, and (vi) income or expense from non-recurring projects and non-operating activities (as described above). 

Adjusted Diluted EPS is calculated by dividing Adjusted Net Income by the weighted average diluted shares outstanding of RBI during the reporting period. Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS are used by management to evaluate the operating performance of the business, excluding certain non-cash and other specifically identified items that management believes are not relevant to management's assessment of operating performance.

Net Leverage is defined as net debt (total debt less cash and cash equivalents) divided by LTM Adjusted EBITDA. Net Leverage is an operating performance measure that we believe provides investors a more complete understanding of our leverage position and borrowing capacity after factoring in cash and cash equivalents that eventually could be used to repay outstanding debt.

Revenue growth and Adjusted EBITDA growth, on an organic basis, are non-GAAP measures that exclude the impact of FX movements and also exclude the results of Firehouse Subs for the first four full fiscal quarters following the acquisition. Management believes that organic growth is an important metric for measuring the operating performance of our business as it helps identify underlying business trends, without distortion from the effects of FX movements and the Firehouse Subs acquisition. We calculate the impact of FX movements by translating prior year results at current year monthly average exchange rates.

Free Cash Flow is the total of Net cash provided by operating activities minus Payments for property and equipment. Free Cash Flow is a liquidity measure used by management as one factor in determining the amount of cash that is available for working capital needs or other uses of cash, however, it does not represent residual cash flows available for discretionary expenditures. LTM Free Cash Flow is defined as Free Cash Flow for the last twelve-month period to the date reported. 

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Organic Growth in Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA
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RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income
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RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS
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RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Non-GAAP Financial Measures         
Net Leverage and Reconciliation of Free Cash Flow
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