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Coronavirus pandemic takes huge bite out of Tim Hortons' sales as Canadians stay home – Financial Post

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Tim Hortons is struggling with major revenue declines, with daily sales during the coronavirus crisis dropping nearly 40 per cent compared to this time last year, according to an earnings report from the coffee chain’s parent company Restaurant Brands International Inc.

The outbreak hit Canada in March just as Tim Hortons was in the midst of a company-wide “back-to-basics” push to ratchet down a flurry of confusing menu experiments and refocus the chain on coffee, doughnuts and breakfast. But those routine morning offerings have been hit the hardest by the shift to working from home, RBI said on Friday.

“Everyone has been impacted heavily in that breakfast business,” RBI chief executive Jose Cil said on a conference call with analysts.

85% of Tim Hortons in Canada are still open but only for drive-thru and takeout

The pandemic also complicated the already delicate process of overhauling the chain’s signature promotion, Roll Up the Rim, in March.

Tim Hortons was planning to introduce a digital version of the contest, in an attempt to push more customers onto its mobile app while still offering the classic roll-up promotion on cups. But in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus, the chain threw out 81 million Roll Up the Rim-branded cups and made the contest entirely digital.

“It’s hard to quantify the final impact of the program on sales, given it coincided exactly with lockdowns beginning in Canada,” Cil said, adding that the digital-only contest led to 1.5 million new app downloads.


The outbreak in March forced Tim Hortons to close its dining rooms and focus entirely on drive-thru and takeout. Of the 4,002 Tims locations in Canada, 85 per cent are still open.

Veronica Henri/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network

In RBI’s first quarter in 2020, which ended on March 31, Tim Hortons sales in Canada dropped to US$1.19 billion, a decrease of US$152 million compared to last year. In Canada, the chain had a 10.8 per cent decline in comparable sales — a common retail that gives a clearer view of year-over-year sales growth by ignoring sales from recently opened stores.

Tims was already struggling with comparable sales declines before the crisis, but Cil said the chain was starting to see improvements in January and February.

The outbreak in March forced the chain to close its dining rooms and focus entirely on drive-thru and takeout. Of the 4,002 Tims locations in Canada, 85 per cent are still open, Cil said.

To reduce franchisee costs, the chain has also put major improvement plans on hold, including ongoing efforts to upgrade coffee brewing and drive-thru equipment.

RBI, which also owns Burger King and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, said the toughest part of the crisis appears to be subsiding.

The worst impact appears to have come in the final two weeks of March, when daily comparable sales fell “on average by a percentage in the mid-forties,” the company said. The decline in daily sales has since improved, hovering in the “high thirties” at the end of April.

“As we look forward, and we go into the next phase, we’re going to be working closely in each of our markets around connecting with folks as they get back to their routines, going back to the office,” Cil said. “It may take a little bit longer to open up completely, but we’re going to be there every step of the way, trying to drive that behaviour back to where it was pre-COVID-19.”

• Email: jedmiston@nationalpost.com | Twitter:

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Restaurant Brands reports US$357M Q3 net income, down from US$364M a year ago

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TORONTO – Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported net income of US$357 million for its third quarter, down from US$364 million in the same quarter last year.

The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its profit amounted to 79 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 79 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue for the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, totalled US$2.29 billion, up from US$1.84 billion in the same quarter last year.

Consolidated comparable sales were up 0.3 per cent.

On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands says it earned 93 cents US per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 90 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:QSR)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Electric and gas utility Fortis reports $420M Q3 profit, up from $394M a year ago

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ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Fortis Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $420 million, up from $394 million in the same quarter last year.

The electric and gas utility says the profit amounted to 85 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 81 cents per share a year earlier.

Fortis says the increase was driven by rate base growth across its utilities, and strong earnings in Arizona largely reflecting new customer rates at Tucson Electric Power.

Revenue in the quarter totalled $2.77 billion, up from $2.72 billion in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, Fortis says it earned 85 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 84 cents per share in the third quarter of 2023.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 82 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:FTS)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Thomson Reuters reports Q3 profit down from year ago as revenue rises

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TORONTO – Thomson Reuters reported its third-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as its revenue rose eight per cent.

The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says it earned US$301 million or 67 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The result compared with a profit of US$367 million or 80 cents US per diluted share in the same quarter a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter totalled US$1.72 billion, up from US$1.59 billion a year earlier.

In its outlook, Thomson Reuters says it now expects organic revenue growth of 7.0 per cent for its full year, up from earlier expectations for growth of 6.5 per cent.

On an adjusted basis, Thomson Reuters says it earned 80 cents US per share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of 82 cents US per share in the same quarter last year.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 76 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRI)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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