Yum Brands Inc (YUM)

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
YUM! BRANDS INC. (NYSE: YUM) today reported results for the fourth
quarter and year ended December 26, 2009.

FULL-YEAR HIGHLIGHTS

FOURTH-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

David C. Novak, Chairman and CEO, said, â??Given the tough macro
environment, I am especially pleased to announce 2009 was another strong
year of performance as we continue our quest to make Yum! Brands â??The
Defining Global Company That Feeds the World.� We reported 13% EPS
growth, marking the 8th straight year that we exceeded our annual target
of at least 10% growth and achieved at least 13%. Our growth in 2009 was
driven primarily by a record 509 new units in mainland China and 898 new
units in Yum! Restaurants International. At the same time, we invested
heavily in our future growth drivers including infrastructure in
emerging markets and developing incremental sales layers that will make
our unit economics even stronger over time.

â??We are in the enviable position of having powerful brands and unmatched
unit economics in China as evidenced by KFCâ??s $1.4 million average unit
volumes and restaurant margins of over 20%. There is no question we are
in the early innings of profitable expansion in this massive and rapidly
growing economy. We are also making progress creating major new growth
vehicles by investing in India, Russia and France and beginning to
develop Taco Bell into a truly global brand. At the same time, we are
aggressively developing incremental sales layers including breakfast,
new beverages and expanded protein options. Our goal is to provide more
meaningful menu variety to our customers and leverage our assets
throughout the day. We are putting these same building blocks in place
to drive long-term growth at Taco Bell in the U.S. where we are also
making steady progress transforming and restructuring our Pizza Hut and
KFC businesses.

â??In 2010, we once again expect to achieve our annual target of at least
10% EPS growth. Our profitable international new unit development will
be a key driver of our growth as we execute against our obvious
short-term challenge of driving same-store-sales growth. I am confident
that our teams around the world will continue to build on our track
record of consistent double-digit EPS growth.�

CHINA DIVISION

YUM! RESTAURANTS INTERNATIONAL (YRI)
DIVISION

U.S. DIVISION

U.S. BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION UPDATE

DIVISION REPORTING REALIGNMENT

Beginning in the first quarter of 2010, two of our China Division
businesses, Thailand and KFC Taiwan, will begin being reported as part
of YRI. The China Division will then include solely the results of our
mainland China business. While our consolidated results will not be
impacted, we will restate our historical segment information during 2010
for consistent presentation.

CONFERENCE CALL

Yum! Brands Inc. will host a conference call to review the companyâ??s
financial performance and strategies at 9:15 a.m. ET Thursday, February
4, 2010. The number is 877/815-2029 for U.S. callers and 706/645-9271
for international callers.

The call will be available for playback beginning at noon Eastern Time
Thursday, February 4, through midnight Thursday, February 18, 2010.
To access the playback, dial 800/642-1687 in the United States
and 706/645-9291 internationally. The playback pass code is 52224616.

The webcast and the playback can be accessed via the internet by
visiting Yum! Brandsâ?? Web site, www.yum.com/investors
and selecting â??Q4 2009 Earnings Conference Callâ? under â??Investors: News
and Presentations�. A podcast will be available within 24 hours.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ONLINE

Fourth quarter end dates for each division, restaurant-count details,
and definitions of terms including Key Markets are available online at www.yum.com
under â??Investorsâ?.

This announcement, any related announcements and the related webcast may
contain â??forward-looking statementsâ? within the meaning of Section 27A
of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934. We intend all forward-looking statements to be covered by
the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact
that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Our
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which
may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected.
Factors that can cause our actual results to differ materially include,
but are not limited to: economic and political conditions in the
countries where we operate; currency exchange and interest rates;
commodity, labor and other operating costs; competition, consumer
preferences or perceptions; the impact of any widespread illness or food
borne illness; the effectiveness of our operating initiatives and
marketing; new-product and concept development by us and our
competitors; the success of our strategies for refranchising and
international development; the continued viability of our franchise and
license operators; our ability to secure and maintain distribution and
adequate supply to our restaurants; publicity that may impact our
business and/or industry; pending or future legal claims; our effective
tax rates; our actuarially determined casualty loss estimates;
government regulations; and accounting policies and practices. You
should consult our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(including the information set forth under the captions â??Risk Factorsâ?
and â??Forward-Looking Statementsâ? in our Annual Report on Form 10-K) for
additional detail about factors that could affect our financial and
other results. Forward-looking statements are based on current
expectations and assumptions and currently available data and are
neither predictions nor guarantees of future events or performance. You
should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which
speak only as of the date hereof. We are not undertaking to update any
of these statements.

Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, is the worldâ??s largest
restaurant company in terms of system restaurants, with more than 37,000
restaurants in over 110 countries and territories. The company is ranked
#239 on the Fortune 500 List, with revenues of nearly $11 billion in
2009. Four of the companyâ??s restaurant brands â?? KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco
Bell and Long John Silverâ??s â?? are the global leaders of the chicken,
pizza, Mexicanâ??style food and quickâ??service seafood categories,
respectively. Outside the United States, the Yum! Brands system opened
more than four new restaurants each day of the year, making it a leader
in international retail development.