BENGALURU, July 29 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands Asia
, which operates Burger King and Popeyes chains in
India and Indonesia, reported a narrower first-quarter loss on
Monday as offers and discounts brought more customers to
its outlets.
The company's consolidated net loss narrowed to 493.6
million rupees ($5.90 million) in the three months ended June 30
from a loss of 504.8 million rupees a year earlier.
However, this is the company's fifteenth consecutive
quarterly loss.
With growing competition in the quick service restaurant
industry, Burger King India introduced "Tasty Meals" starting at
99 rupees to boost dine-in traffic.
The company, which runs quick service chains owned by
Restaurant Brands International, said prices of
ingredients rose 5%.
India's quick-service restaurant (QSR) brands provided
discounts and budget-friendly meals to draw in customers during
a quarter that featured the T20 Cricket World Cup and a school
holiday period.
Revenue increased about 6% during the quarter, helped by
higher footfall due to offers like the "Tasty Meals".
Rival fast food chain McDonald's India franchisee Westlife
Foodworld reported a plunge in first-quarter profit
amid frail demand and higher expenses.
Other rivals such as KFC-operator Devyani International
, Pizza Hut-operator Sapphire Foods, and
Domino's India-franchisee Jubilant FoodWorks are yet
to report results.
Shares of Restaurant Brands Asia closed 1.4% higher ahead of
quarterly results.
($1 = 83.6970 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto and Dimpal Gulwani in
Bengaluru;Editing by Varun H K))