Yum Brands Inc has said that it expects the coronavirus to impact its second-quarter same-store sales more significantly than in the first quarter.
The company highlighted early signs of a sales recovery in markets that were first impacted by the outbreak, but said that there is no assurance of continued improvement.
Yum Brands estimates first-quarter same-store sales declines in a mid- to high-single digits range.
The company said in a regulatory filing that it will also suspend its previously announced $2 billion share repurchase program.
Yum China
Yum China said last week that its business is in the early stages of recovery, weeks after the fast-food chain operator closed over a third of its outlets at the peak of China's coronavirus outbreak.
Yum China, the exclusive licensee of the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands in China, was spun off from Yum Brands in 2016.
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