NEW YORK — Tim Hortons Inc. said Wednesday its fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 11 percent on increased sales in the United States and Canada.
The Canadian doughnut-and-coffee chain reported earnings grew to 75.7 million Canadian dollars ($76.3 million), or 40 Canadian cents (40 cents) per share, compared with 67.9 million Canadian dollars, or 35 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial predicted a profit of 41 cents per share.
Revenue for the period ended Dec. 30 rose 11 percent to 515.4 million Canadian dollars ($519.8 million) from $466.5 million Canadian dollars in the prior year, which missed Wall Street's estimate of $551.9 million.
Same-store sales climbed 3.4 percent in Canada and 4.2 percent in the United States during the quarter. Same-store sales, or sales at restaurants open at least a year, is a key indicator of performance since it measures growth at existing restaurants rather than newly opened ones.
Fourth-quarter sales increased to 335.2 million Canadian dollars ($338 million) from 294.8 million Canadian dollars, while franchise revenue improved to 180.2 million Canadian dollars ($181.7 million) from 171.7 million Canadian dollars.
Full-year net income increased 4 percent to 269.6 million Canadian dollars ($271.9 million), or 1.43 Canadian dollars ($1.44) per share, from 259.6 million Canadian dollars, or 1.40 Canadian dollars per share.
Annual sales gained 15 percent to 1.9 billion Canadian dollars ($1.92 billion) from 1.66 billion Canadian dollars in the previous year.
The company anticipates full-year same-store sales growth between 4 percent and 6 percent in Canada and between 2 percent and 4 percent in the United States.
Wendy's International Inc. spun off Tim Hortons in March 2006.
