* Q3 Burger King comparable sales up 6.2 pct
* Tim Hortons comparable sales up 5.3 pct
* May open Tim Hortons in India-CFO
* Shares up 4.4 percent
(Adds executive comments, background, shares)
By Anet Josline Pinto and Sneha Banerjee
Oct 27 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands International Inc
QSR.TO QSR.N , owner of Burger King and Tim Hortons, reported
a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by new menu
items and lower costs.
The company's shares were trading up 6.6 percent at C$53.48
in midday trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
Most of Restaurant Brands outlets are in the United States
and Canada. But the company has been opening new restaurants in
France, Brazil, Russia and India, following its peers such as
Starbucks Corp SBUX.O , Krispy Kreme Doughnuts KKD.N ,
McDonald's Corp MCD.N and Yum Brands YUM.N .
Oakville, Ontario-based Restaurant Brands said China, where
it has a relatively smaller presence than its peers, is one of
its fastest growing markets.
Burger King opened in India last year and the company may
launch its coffee and doughnut chain Tim Hortons in the country,
Chief Financial Officer Joshua Kobza told Reuters.
Starbucks, Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Donuts have been
expanding in the fast-growing India market, while Cafe Coffee
Day, the country's biggest coffee chain, is going public.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N12G2VW
BREAKFAST DEMAND
Tim Hortons' comparable sales increased 5.3 percent in the
third quarter, helped by the launch of new breakfast items,
lunch wraps and continued demand for beverages. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nPnc0V8WW
Breakfast is the only U.S. restaurant meal time seeing an
uptick in customer visits and Burger King was the No. 4 choice
for "Breakfastarians", according to recent survey. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N10P1VP
Burger King's comparable sales increased 6.2 percent, helped
by new menu items such as Fiery Chicken Fries and the Extra Long
Jalapeño Cheeseburger. Burger King opened 141 new restaurants
during the three months ended Sept. 30.
The company, posting third-quarter results for the first
time, said total operating costs and expenses declined about 9
percent to $675.7 million.
Net profit attributable to shareholders soared to $49.6
million, or 24 cents per share, in the third quarter, from $9.6
million, or 5 cents per share, in the second quarter.
On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands earned 34 cents per
share, beating analysts average estimate of 28 cents per share,
according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The company's quarterly revenue fell 2 percent to $1.02
billion, slightly missing analysts' estimate of $1.04 billion.
Restaurant Brands' stock had risen a little more than 10
percent this year through Monday.