COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

KFC-parent Yum Brands beats estimates

KFC-parent Yum Brands Inc reported quarterly comparable sales that beat Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, boosted by robust demand for its tacos and fried chicken as people venture out to eat after the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.

To attract returning customers, Yum has launched special menu offerings, including a crispy chicken sandwich taco at Taco Bell, a Detroit-style pizza at Pizza Hut and a plant-based imitation of its fried chicken at KFC.

Comparable sales in the fourth quarter jumped 5% for the company, which also owns Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains. Analysts polled by Refinitiv were expecting a 4.5% increase.

Same-store sales at its KFC restaurants rose 5%, while that of Taco Bell increased 8%. Analysts were expecting them to increase 4.1% and 6.1%, respectively. Earnings per share rose to US$1.11 from US$1.08.-Reuters

GSK sees sales growth in 2022

Britain's GSK forecast growth in 2022 after racking up 1.4 billion pounds (US$1.9 billion) in Covid-related sales in 2021, beating quarterly forecasts in its first earnings report since rejecting Unilever's bid for its consumer arm.

The results underscore a comeback for GSK in the race to help fight the Covid-19 pandemic after it failed to bring a vaccine to the market so far. The spin-off of the consumer venture with Pfizer has also put the future in focus as boss Emma Walmsley faces pressure from activist investors.

"We have ended the year strongly, with another quarter of excellent performance and we enter 2022 with good momentum," Walmsley said. "This is going to be a landmark year for GSK."

The drugmaker is pressing on with the spin-off of its consumer arm, home to brands such as Sensodyne toothpaste and Advil painkiller, after turning down Unilever's 50-billion-pound buyout offer for the unit in December.

Some activist investors had called on GSK to give more consideration to a potential sale of the unit. They have also questioned the ability of top management to boost the success rate of drug development, where GSK has long lagged peers. -Reuters

SoftBank says no stake sale plans

Japan's SoftBank Group Corp said on Wednesday there was no link between Alibaba registering a US share facility and any specific plans to sell down its stake in the Chinese e-commerce giant. SoftBank's shares jumped almost 6% in Tokyo, while Alibaba's Hong Kong-listed shares were up almost 7%.

"The registration of the ADR conversion facility, including its size, is not tied to any specific future transaction by SBG," SoftBank said in a statement to Reuters.

SoftBank has previously used its Alibaba shares as collateral for loans and trimmed its stake using derivatives to capture upside from any rise in the company's stock price.

After Alibaba, last week filed to register an additional 1 billion American Depository Shares (ADS), Citigroup analysts had said this might "suggest potential selling intention by SoftBank".

In a fresh research note on Wednesday, Citi said Alibaba might have registered in advance a large number of ADS to support future plans of shareholders to convert the company's Hong Kong stocks to those listed in New York. -Reuters

Amazon to adhere to UK supplier rules

Amazon's food retail business in Britain faces increased regulation after the competition watchdog said rules setting out how grocers should treat their suppliers will now apply to the US giant.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Wednesday that due to Amazon's increasing activity in the UK grocery sector it must now comply with the Groceries Supply Code of Practice.

The code applies to retailers with an annual turnover of more than 1 billion pounds (US$1.4 billion) in grocery sales.

Amazon does not break out figures for its UK grocery sales, so its designation under the code publicly confirms for the first time that its sales have crossed the 1-billion-pound threshold.

The code ensures grocers treat suppliers fairly. It restricts firms from making changes to supply contracts at short notice and also requires retailers to give an appropriate period of notice if they no longer want to use a supplier and provide reasons for ending the contract. -Reuters

Foxconn to start US$8 bln investment

Taiwan-based Foxconn will launch an US$8 billion investment in Indonesia in the third quarter of this year to manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries, an Indonesian minister said on Wednesday.

The iPhone assembler will build a factory on 200 hectares of an industrial zone in Batang in Central Java to make battery cells, cathode precursor and telecommunication spare parts in addition to the vehicles, Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia told a forum.

Foxconn did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the investment.

The firm last month said it would partner with Indonesia's investment ministry and other companies for a wide scope of investment on EVs, including battery manufacturing.

That partnership included state-owned Indonesia Battery Corporation, energy firm PT Indika Energy and Taiwanese electric scooter vendor Gogoro.

Foxconn has expanded EV activities in recent years, announcing deals with US startup Fisker Inc and Thai energy group PTT. Indonesia has been trying to court Foxconn's investment for years but a previous deal agreed in 2015 collapsed. -Reuters