Restaurant Brands appoints new CEO to boost its Burger King brand

Restaurant Brands, owner of the Burger King company, appointed Joshua Kobza as the new CEO to lead the turnaround.

Restaurant Brands has under its umbrella brands such as Popeyes, Tim Hortons and Firehouse Subs, in addition to Burger King.
In an adverse context due to the global economy, RB did not meet Wall Street’s earnings forecasts for the last quarter of 2022 due to the increase in operating expenses.
The U.S. company will continue in the coming months very pressured by the inflationary context and investments to increase sales. It is not a good time to buy RB shares.

The fast food holding Restaurant Brands International appointed last week its new CEO to speed up the recovery project of its flagship brand: Burger King.

The company, which also owns the Popeyes, Tim Hortons and Firehouse Subs restaurant chains, did not meet Wall Street’s earnings forecasts for the last quarter of last year, mainly due to the increase in operating expenses. In that context, the company’s shares fell nearly 3.7 percent.

Joshua Kobza, an experienced man at the company and current chief operating officer, will be the new CEO as of next month, replacing Jose Cil, who was in charge of the company for the past four years. He will also remain with the firm through 2023. He will do so as an advisor, they explained.

Cil says goodbye to Restaurant Brands

Under Cil’s leadership, the Burger King brand made major changes for the first time in the last 20 years, modifying its logo, packaging, uniforms and store aesthetics.

The former CEO also hired Tom Curtis, former CEO of fast-food restaurant chain Domino’s Pizza, to take over Burger King in the U.S. and Canada.

In September last year, Restaurants Brands announced a $400 million turnaround project to increase advertising, purchase new kitchen equipment and modernize stores.

And two months later, the company brought Patrick Doyle on board as CEO. Doyle led a resounding turnaround at Domino ‘s when he led the brand in 2018.

The results for the final quarter of 2022 “hint that the company’s initiatives to increase revenue growth across all of its brands appear to be on track,” said Jon Tower, an analyst at financial services firm Citigroup.

However, the company will continue to be hard pressed by the inflationary backdrop and investments to increase sales.

Tim Hortons is one of several brands under the Restaurant Brands umbrella

Restaurant Brands revenue less than expected

RB’s total revenue rose nearly 10 percent to $1.7 billion in the latest quarter, versus forecasts of $1.68 billion, according to IBES data in Refinitiv.

The company earned 72 cents per share, versus estimates of 73 cents.

Worldwide comparable sales grew about 8 percent between October and December, helped by more than 10 percent growth at Tim Hortons Canada and Burger King International, primarily in France, Spain, Australia, Brazil and Britain, which helped balance tensions in China.