YUM CHINA-百胜中国：4Q24业绩点评：提效创新驱动营收利润双增，股东回馈稳健可观

Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for Yum China (9987.HK) [4] Core Insights - The company achieved total revenue of $2.6 billion in Q4 2024, with a year-over-year increase of 4%. Operating profit reached$ 151 million, up 36% year-over-year, with an operating margin of 5.8% [1] - The growth in system sales was driven by a 5% contribution from net new stores, with a total of 534 new stores opened in Q4, bringing the total to 16,395 stores [2] - The company plans to increase the proportion of franchise stores, targeting 40-50% for KFC and 20-30% for Pizza Hut in future new openings, aiming for 1,600-1,800 net new stores and $700-800 million in capital expenditures by 2025 [3] Summary by Sections Financial Performance - Q4 system sales increased by 4% year-over-year, with same-store sales down 1%, an improvement from Q3's decline of 3%. Delivery sales grew by 14% year-over-year, accounting for 42% of restaurant revenue [2] - Q4 restaurant profit margin was 12.3%, up 1.6 percentage points year-over-year, with KFC at 13.3% and Pizza Hut at 9.3% [3] Shareholder Returns - The company has a target of returning$ 4.5 billion to shareholders between 2024 and 2026, with $248 million returned in Q4 and$ 1.5 billion for the full year 2024. A 50% increase in cash dividends to $0.24 per share has been announced [4] Earnings Forecast - Projected net profits for FY2025-2027 are$ 943 million, $1.011 billion, and$ 1.061 billion, respectively, with corresponding EPS of $2.50,$ 2.68, and $2.82. The P/E ratios are expected to be 20, 18, and 17 times [5]