China and US Equity Analyst

Roger Xie

10 year investment experience on public and private equity. Deep-dive fundamental research. Specialize in China and US market.

Yum China (YUMC.US/9987.HK): Resilient Business Model in the Face of Rising COVID Cases

Yum China (YUMC.US/​9987.HK): Zero-COVID Policy Weighted on Earnings

China Pivots from Zero-COVID Policy & End of China's Ban on Korean Culture?

Yum China (YUMC and 9987.HK): Accelerating New Store Openings to Improve Long-Term Profitability

Yum China (YUMC and 9987.HK): Pizza Hut Recovered Faster than Market Expectation

Yum China (YUMC and 9987.HK): Strategic Investment in Sunner to Strengthen Supply Chain Management

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>The resurgence of COVID-19 cases has again put the Chinese restaurant sector under pressure. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yum-china-holdings-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:23677:1" rel="noopener">Yum China Holdings, Inc (YUMC US)</a> released a business update last night. The latest outbreak of COVID-19 Delta variant in China has caused more than 500 of Yum China stores in 17 provinces closed or offering only takeaway and delivery services. Same-store sales in August 2021 declined by mid-teens percentage year over year, or close to an approximately 20% decline compared to August 2019 (or mid-teen decline on year-over-year basis).  Based on current trend, the Company has experienced significant operating deleveraging, adjusted operating profit, which excludes special items, may be reduced by approximately 50% to 60% for the third quarter of 2021, compared to the same period last year. </li>
<li>Other casual dining companies have experienced similar pullback  given the wide spread of Delta variants in China and record flooding in some areas. For example, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/jiumaojiu-international-holdings-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28293:1" rel="noopener">Jiumaojiu (9922 HK)</a> Tai Er restaurants and Jiu Mao Jiu restaurants have seen around 10% and 20% decline of same-store sale respectively compared with pre-COVID 2019. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/haidilao-international-holding-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27044:1" rel="noopener">Haidilao (6862 HK)</a> experienced about 30% decline of same-store sale compared with pre-COVID 2019. We believe the latest surge of COVID-19 has the bigger impact on transportation hubs and tourist locations.</li>
<li>To put the comparison in the same context, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yum-china-holdings-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:23677:1" rel="noopener">Yum China Holdings, Inc (YUMC US)</a> recorded 40-50% same-store sale decline during the initial COVID outbreak in February 2020. Apparently, the scale of recent outbreak is not as big as the initial one. We expect that Yum China is more experienced this time to utilize delivery and take-out options as well. The company is using technology to foster brand loyalty and drive more consistent traffic. Yum China had 330 million members on its rewards app. This has facilitated the shift of sales to various digital platforms (more than 84% of sales were digital in 2020) and enabled the company to collect a vast amount of consumer data.  Through analyzing this data, the group is trying to lock in its customers through personalized menu creations based on each diner’s past order history and local tastes. We continue to believe <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yum-china-holdings-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:23677:1" rel="noopener">Yum China Holdings, Inc (YUMC US)</a> offers investors better reward/risk potential in China restaurant sector. We reiterate TP US$72 for Yum China, which is based on 30x 2021e P/E. </li>
</ul>


The resurgence of COVID-19 cases has again put the Chinese restaurant sector under pressure. Yum China Holdings, Inc (YUMC US) released a business update last night. The latest outbreak of COVID-19 Delta variant in China has caused more than 500 of Yum China stores in 17 provinces closed or offering only takeaway and delivery services. Same-store sales in August 2021 declined by mid-teens percentage year over year, or close to an approximately 20% decline compared to August 2019 (or mid-teen decline on year-over-year basis).  Based on current trend, the Company has experienced significant operating deleveraging, adjusted operating profit, which excludes special items, may be reduced by approximately 50% to 60% for the third quarter of 2021, compared to the same period last year. 
Other casual dining companies have experienced similar pullback  given the wide spread of Delta variants in China and record flooding in some areas. For example, Jiumaojiu (9922 HK) Tai Er restaurants and Jiu Mao Jiu restaurants have seen around 10% and 20% decline of same-store sale respectively compared with pre-COVID 2019. Haidilao (6862 HK) experienced about 30% decline of same-store sale compared with pre-COVID 2019. We believe the latest surge of COVID-19 has the bigger impact on transportation hubs and tourist locations.
To put the comparison in the same context, Yum China Holdings, Inc (YUMC US) recorded 40-50% same-store sale decline during the initial COVID outbreak in February 2020. Apparently, the scale of recent outbreak is not as big as the initial one. We expect that Yum China is more experienced this time to utilize delivery and take-out options as well. The company is using technology to foster brand loyalty and drive more consistent traffic. Yum China had 330 million members on its rewards app. This has facilitated the shift of sales to various digital platforms (more than 84% of sales were digital in 2020) and enabled the company to collect a vast amount of consumer data.  Through analyzing this data, the group is trying to lock in its customers through personalized menu creations based on each diner’s past order history and local tastes. We continue to believe Yum China Holdings, Inc (YUMC US) offers investors better reward/risk potential in China restaurant sector. We reiterate TP US$72 for Yum China, which is based on 30x 2021e P/E. 


Yum China (YUMC and 9987.HK): Short-Term Pressure Due to Resurge of COVID Cases in China