In a February 15th release, Restaurant Brands International Inc. (RBI) posted financial results for the 4th quarter and fiscal 2021. Along with other QSRs and casual dining competitors, all are subject to the risks of climatic extremes and increased costs for food, packaging and labor in a competitive environment still restrained by COVID. The Company announced that it will increase menu prices and remove the popular Whopper™ from Burger King value menus.

For the 4th Quarter of FY 2021 ending December 31st, net income was $262.0 million on total revenue of $1,546 million.  Comparable figures for the 4th quarter of fiscal 2020 ending December 31st 2020 were net income of $139.0 million on total revenue of $1,358 million. Diluted EPS rose from $0.30 for the 4th quarter of fiscal 2020 to $0.57 for the most recent quarter. For the quarter, systemwide sales increased by 13.8 percent compared to Q4 of FY 2020.

For FY 2021 net income was $1,253 million on revenue of $5,739 million compared to net income of $355.8 on revenue of $4,968 million for FY 2020 impacted by COVID. Diluted EPS for FY 2021 attained $2.69 compared to $1.60 million for FY 2020.

For FY 2021 segment results comprised:-

Tim Horton’s: Revenue, $3,342 million; EBITDA, $997 million; Comparable store sales increase, 10.6 percent with 5,291 stores

Burger King: Revenue $1,813 million; EBITDA $1,021 million; Comparable store sales increase 9.3 percent with 19,247 stores

Popeye’s LA Kitchen: Revenue,  $579 million; EBITDA, $228 million; Comparable store sales increase, 7.3 percent with 3,705 stores

José Cil, Chief Executive Officer of RBI commented, “I’m proud of the strong performance our brands delivered as we closed out 2021. During the quarter, we saw sequential improvements in each brand and around the world, including notable growth at Tim Hortons Canada and Burger King U.S.” He continued, “Two areas of particular strength across our business have been in digital sales and restaurant growth.  Our digital investments have been embraced by our guests, with global digital sales reaching $10 billion in 2021, up from $6 billion in 2020 and now representing about 30% of our global system-wide sales. In addition, our strong global network of franchisees and our development team opened over 1,200 net new restaurants, representing the highest levels of restaurant growth at Tim Hortons and Popeye’s in recent history.”

Cil concluded “Our growth throughout 2021 resulted in strong free cash flow, allowing us to make important investments in our business while returning over $1.5 billion of capital to shareholders and acquiring a new restaurant brand in Firehouse Subs. I am excited for what lies ahead for our family of four iconic brands and am confident in the strength of our team, our franchisees and our strategies to drive long-term growth and value creation.”

On December 31st 2021, QSR posted assets of $23,246 million of which $17,423 million comprised goodwill and intangibles. The Company had an intraday market capitalization of $18,000 million on February 16th. QSR trades with a forward P/E of 14.8 and has ranged over a 52-week period from $53.47 to $71.12 with a 50-day moving average of $57.73.  Twelve-month trailing operating margin was 32.8 percent and profit margin 14.6 percent.  Return on assets over the past twelve months was 5.1 percent and the return on equity 33.1 percent. At close of trading on February 14th pre-release, QSR was priced at $57.14. At market close, post-release on February 16th QSR traded at at $58.57