Burger King and Tim Hortons owner Restaurant Brands sees second-quarter sales up 8.3% to $1.78 billion on double-digit growth for both brands

The owner of the fast food giants Burger King and Tim Hortons saw its turnover rise 8.3 percent in the second quarter to $ 1.78 billion.

Restaurants Brands International reported its financial results Tuesday, beating Wall Street expectations.

Company-wide net sales increased $1.64 billion compared to the same quarter last year.

It saw double-digit store sales growth across both brands and reported second-quarter net income of $351 million, up from $346 million a year earlier.

Shares of Restaurants Brands International rose 1.5 percent after the financial results were announced.

Burger King saw its turnover grow by 13.8 percent compared to the second quarter of 2022, while the turnover of the Canadian chain Tim Hortons increased by 15 percent.

Revenue grew from $1.59 billion in the first quarter to $1.78 billion, the highest figure since the third quarter of last year.

Restaurants Brands International, which also owns Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, reported a 9.6 percent increase in same-store sales, a figure based on sales from stores open more than a year.

This increase was driven by strong growth at Burger King and Tim Hortons.

Josh Kobza, CEO of Restaurant Brands International, said so CNBC customer visits increased during the quarter in international markets and at Tim Hortons locations in Canada.

But U.S. footfall numbers ranged from flat to “a little negative” for Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs brands.

Its rivals, including McDonalds, are reporting an increase in customer traffic in the US as people choose alternative options to expensive restaurants.

Kobza insisted it’s hard to say whether this pattern is playing out across the company’s brands.

Tim Hortons accounts for more than half of Restaurants Brands International’s sales and saw same-store sales grow 11.4 percent, surpassing StreetAccount estimates of 6.5 percent. This figure for the Canadian market was 12.5 percent.

“We showed strength in all of our core categories, but also a lot of growth in some of the big target areas that we’re trying to capture, like our PM foods and cold drinks,” said Kobza.

Tim Hortons recently added the BBQ Crispy Chicken bowl and Sparkling Quenchers to its menu to attract more customers in the afternoon.

Same-store sales in Burger King rose 10.2 percent, well above estimates of 5.3 percent.

While sales at the same store in the US, where the fast food giant is trying to revive the brand, rose 8.3 percent.

In the second quarter, a total of $10 million was spent on advertising Burger King in the US.

Restaurants Brands International spent $11 million on restaurant improvements, including renovations.

It plans to spend $400 million on the revival of Burger King in the US over the course of the turnaround.

The burger giant’s marketing is focused on the Whopper, its signature menu item.

The introduction of the Spider-Verse Whopper in conjunction with the release of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse brought younger customers to the restaurants to purchase the burger.

Same-store sales at Popeyes grew 6.3 percent, nearly double what was expected.

Firehouse Subs, Restaurant Brands International’s most recent addition to its portfolio, reported same-store sales growth of 2.1 percent.

CEO Kobza told investors on a conference call that the company will likely have a better view of its long-term growth goals by the end of the year.