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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): March 14, 2022

 

Yum China Holdings, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

 

 

Delaware		001-37762		81-2421743
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(Commission File Number)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

 

7100 Corporate Drive Plano, Texas 75024 United States of America		Yum China Building 20 Tian Yao Qiao Road Shanghai 200030 People’s Republic of China
(Address, including zip code, of principal executive offices)

 

(469) 980-2898

(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

☐	Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
☐	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share	YUMC	New York Stock Exchange
	9987	The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

 

 

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Item 7.01.

Regulation FD Disclosure.

 

On March 14, 2022, Yum China Holdings, Inc. issued a press release providing an update on the first quarter 2022 business performance amid the latest COVID-19 development in China. A copy of the press release is being furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.

 

Item 9.01.

Financial Statements and Exhibits.

 

(d)    Exhibits.

 

The following exhibits are furnished with this report:

 

Exhibit No.		Exhibit Description
99.1		Press Release of Yum China Holdings, Inc. issued March 14, 2022.
104		Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)

 

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

		YUM CHINA HOLDINGS, INC.
		By:		/s/ Andy Yeung
				Name:		Andy Yeung
				Title:		Chief Financial Officer
Date: March 14, 2022

 

 

Exhibit 99.1

 

 

Yum China Provides Update on the First Quarter 2022 Business Performance

Amid the Latest COVID-19 Development in China

 

Shanghai, China (March 14, 2022) – Yum China Holdings, Inc. (the “Company” or “Yum China”) (NYSE: YUMC and HKEX: 9987) today updated its first quarter 2022 business performance in light of the recent COVID-19 development in China.

 

As we mentioned in the fourth quarter earnings release, same-store sales in January 2022 improved modestly from the fourth quarter, but were still down year over year, compared to the comparable Chinese New Year Holiday period in 2021. Entering March, the situation has rapidly deteriorated with the highly transmissible Omicron variant causing outbreaks across China, including economically important regions of Guangdong, Shanghai, Shandong and Jilin. Daily cases have hit a two-year high. Quarter-to-date case counts for 2022 have surpassed that of full year 2021. Stricter preventive health measures and containment measures have been observed nationwide, including multiple rounds of city-wide testing and partial or complete city lockdowns.

 

Our operations are significantly impacted by the latest outbreaks and the tighter public health measures which resulted in a further reduction of social activities, travelling and consumption. Although the situation is still rapidly developing, we are providing the following first quarter 2022 update based on latest trends:

 

 

Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China, commented, “As the country battles the surge in COVID-19 cases, we are staying vigilant to ensure the health and safety of our employees and customers. We will keep our restaurants open and provide food services to customers wherever it is possible and safe to do so. Our robust supply chain management has shielded us from material business disruptions. We will continue to drive sales especially in delivery and takeaway occasions. We will also manage costs diligently, and adjust our operations as well as promotion offers as the situation evolves. With our resilient business models, operational excellence and leading digital and delivery capabilities, we are confident we will overcome this challenging and volatile situation. We will continue to execute our RGM strategic framework to fortify resilience, accelerate growth and widen our strategic moat. We believe that this combination of efforts will enable us to drive long-term growth and generate substantial shareholder value in the years ahead.”

 

Forward-Looking Statements

 

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" 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 generally can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and by the use of forward-looking words such as "expect," "expectation," "believe," "anticipate," "may," "could," "intend," "belief," "plan," "estimate," "target," "predict," "project," "likely," "will," "continue," "should," "forecast," "outlook" or similar terminology. These statements are based on current estimates and assumptions made by us in light of

 

 

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our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that we believe are appropriate and reasonable under the circumstances, but there can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the future strategies, growth, business plans, investment, dividend and share repurchase plans, earnings, performance and returns of Yum China, anticipated effects of population and macroeconomic trends, the expected impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the anticipated effects of our innovation, digital and delivery capabilities and investments on growth and beliefs regarding the long-term drivers of Yum China's business. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and could cause our actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by those statements. We cannot assure you that any of our expectations, estimates or assumptions will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are only made as of the date of this press release, and we disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law. Numerous factors could cause our actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: whether we are able to achieve development goals at the times and in the amounts currently anticipated, if at all, the success of our marketing campaigns and product innovation, our ability to maintain food safety and quality control systems, changes in public health conditions, including the COVID-19 pandemic and regional outbreaks caused by existing or new COVID-19 variants, our ability to control costs and expenses, including tax costs, as well as changes in political, economic and regulatory conditions in China. In addition, other risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial could affect the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. You should consult our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (including the information set forth under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K) for additional detail about factors that could affect our financial and other results.

About Yum China Holdings, Inc.

 

Yum China Holdings, Inc. is a licensee of Yum! Brands in mainland China. It has exclusive rights in mainland China to KFC, China's leading quick-service restaurant brand, Pizza Hut, the leading casual dining restaurant brand in China, and Taco Bell, a California-based restaurant chain serving innovative Mexican-inspired food. Yum China also owns the Little Sheep, Huang Ji Huang, East Dawning and COFFii & JOY concepts outright. In addition, Yum China has partnered with Lavazza to explore and develop the Lavazza coffee shop concept in China. The Company had 11,788 restaurants in over 1,600 cities at the end of December 2021.

In 2021, Yum China ranked # 363 on the Fortune 500 list and was named to TIME100 Most Influential Companies list. Yum China has also been selected as member of both Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI): World Index and Emerging Market Index. In 2022, the Company was named to the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and was certified as a Top Employer 2022 in China by the Top Employers Institute, both for the fourth consecutive year. For more information, please visit http://ir.yumchina.com.