Restaurant Brands’ annual net profit fell by almost half amid inflationary pressures and underperformance in California and New Zealand.

The company’s net profit plunged 49.3 per cent to $16.3 million while store sales rose 6.7 per cent to $1.32 billion. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation fell 0.9 per cent to $178.4 million.

The group noted that all regions experienced positive same-store sales, except California where inflation continues to negatively impact spending.

Meanwhile, ingredient inflation and minimum wage increases impacted the New Zealand business the most.

“We are fine-tuning operations to ensure our systems and processes are fit for purpose to meet the challenges of the volatile economic environment and our growing store network,” said Restaurants Brands CEO Arif Khan.

“We are progressing innovation across our menu, store formats, operations, and customer experience and continue to invest significantly in our digital platforms and marketing programs to maximise customer access.”

The company did not provide guidance for this fiscal year due to economic uncertainty.

Restaurant Brands operates the New Zealand franchises for KFC, Pizza Hut, Carl’s Jr and Taco Bell; KFC franchises in NSW and California; and Taco Bell and Pizza Hut franchises in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan.