Restaurant Brands International has today beaten estimates for its quarterly results, boosted by higher prices and strong demand at its Burger King and Tim Hortons chains.
Same-store sales at Burger King and Tim Hortons jumped with more people ordering their sandwiches and coffees as they resumed their pre-pandemic routine.
While restaurant sales are on a recovery path, costs of everything from shipping to labour to commodities have been spiraling due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Ukraine crisis.
These issues have forced restaurants including McDonald's and Starbucks to raise prices to shield their profits.
Restaurant Brands, which usually caters to lower-income consumers, is also set to hike prices again this year after it stripped Burger King's popular Whopper sandwich from discount menus earlier this year.
The price hikes have helped Toronto-based Restaurant Brands cushion a hit from a 3% decline in comparable sales at its Popeyes chain, popular for its fried chicken sandwich.
The brand is grappling with staffing shortages and stiff competition from rivals launching similar menu items.
The company said its total revenue rose to $1.45 billion in the first quarter ended March 31, from $1.26 billion a year earlier, topping analysts' average estimate of $1.39 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Comparable sales at Tim Hortons in Canada rose 10.1%, while Burger King global same-store sales jumped 10.3%, both beating analyst estimates.
Net income attributable to common shareholders rose 2.2% to $183m.
On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands earned 64 cents per share, also above estimates of 61 cents.
