Update on Dispute about Royalties on Delivery and Aggregator Platform Fees with Yum! Brands
SHANGHAI,May 11,2022 -- Yum China Holdings,Inc. (the "Company" or "Yum China") (NYSE: YUMC and HKEX: 9987) today reported that it has invoked the dispute resolution process with Yum! Brands,Inc. ("YUM"),pursuant to the Master License Agreement dated October 31,2016,to resolve a disagreement over royaltiescharged on delivery and aggregator platform fees.
The Company believes,pursuant to the Master License Agreement,delivery and aggregator platform fees should not be subject to royalties. The Company has informed YUM that the Company will stop paying royalties on such fees. The royalty fee amount in dispute for the first quarter ended March 31,2022 is approximately $2 million. The Company may also seek to recoup additional royalty fee payments from November 1,2016 to December 31,2021 with respect to such delivery-related fees. The Company does not expect the dispute resolution process to have a material impact on its operations,financial results and its long term partnership with YUM.
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,including statements regarding actions to be taken with respect to the dispute mentioned in this press release and the impact of the dispute on our operations,financial results and long term partnership with Yum! Brands. 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," "seek," "expectation," "believe," "anticipate," "may," "could," "intend," "belief," "plan," "estimate," "target," "predict," "project," "likely," "will," "continue," "should," "forecast," "commit," "outlook" or similar terminology. These statements are based on current estimates and assumptions made by us in light of 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 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. 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 and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q) 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 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 12,117 restaurants in over 1,700 cities at the end of March 2022.
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.
Investor Relations Contact:
Tel: +86 21 2407 7556 /+852 2267 5801
IR@YumChina.com
Media Contact:
Tel: +86 21 2407 7510
Media@YumChina.com
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