Restaurant Brands International, the owner of Burger King and Tim Hortons, reported a higher than expected quarterly profit as comparable sales at its burger chain topped estimates and costs fell.
Total comparable sales at Burger King rose 2.8% in the fourth quarter ended December 31, beating the average estimate of a 2.5% rise.
Total costs at Restaurant Brands fell about 16% to $619.8m, while total comparable sales at Tim Hortons, which operates mainly in Canada, rose 0.2% in the quarter.
The company's net profit attributable to shareholders more than doubled to $118.4m, or 50 cents per share, from a year ago, when it took a $37m charge for the merger of Burger King and Tim Hortons.
On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands earned 44 cents per share, beating the average analysts' estimate of 42 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters.
The Ontario-based company's total revenue rose about 5% to $1.11 billion and was nearly in line with estimates.
