- Doubles Pizza Hut’s footprint in the regions covered by the alliance; places Pizza Hut in the #1 position in the category across Latin America and the Caribbean in terms of unit count; and confirms Pizza Hut’s position as the world’s largest pizza restaurant company
- Telepizza Group to become a leading multi-country pizza operator worldwide and Pizza Hut’s largest master franchisee globally by unit count
- Alliance nearly doubles Telepizza Group’s store portfolio to more than 2,500 units and €1.1 billion (1.3 Bn $) in system sales, with a presence in 37 countries with more than 500 million potential consumers
- Long-term alliance involves Telepizza Group opening 1,300 new stores over the next 10 years across regions covered in alliance: Spain, Portugal, Latin America (excluding Brazil), the Caribbean and Switzerland
PLANO, TEXAS, and MADRID, SPAIN, May 16, 2018 – Pizza Hut, a division of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) and the world’s largest pizza restaurant company with nearly 17,000 restaurants in over 100 countries, and Telepizza Group (BME: TPZ), the largest non-U.S. pizza delivery company worldwide with more than 1,600 stores in over 20 countries, today announced a strategic deal and master franchise alliance to accelerate growth across Latin America (excluding Brazil), the Caribbean, Spain (including Andorra), Portugal and Switzerland.
The landmark deal doubles Pizza Hut’s footprint in the regions covered by the alliance; places Pizza Hut in the number one position in the category across Latin America and the Caribbean in terms of unit count; and confirms Pizza Hut’s position as the world’s largest pizza restaurant company. As a result of the alliance, Telepizza Group will become Pizza Hut’s largest master franchisee globally by unit count and a leading multi-country pizza operator worldwide.
“This ground-breaking deal is a major milestone in our journey to become the most loved, fastest growing pizza brand in the world, and Telepizza Group is the ideal partner with the capability, commitment and capital to accelerate Pizza Hut’s expansion into key high-growth regions like Latin America,” said Milind Pant, President, Pizza Hut International. “Geographically, this long-term, strategic alliance with Telepizza Group will make Pizza Hut accessible to more consumers over time, helping fulfill our mission of making it easier to get a better quality pizza.”
“Our alliance with Pizza Hut delivers on Telepizza Group’s strategic plan to transform pizza delivery with a management model grounded in improving the customer experience through best-in-class operations,” said Pablo Juantegui, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Telepizza Group. “The deal accelerates our global growth plan, nearly doubles the scale of our business and extends our international reach to 37 countries, which represent more than 500 million potential consumers. The aspirations and capabilities of Telepizza Group and Pizza Hut International are complementary, and we are confident this deal will drive significant value for customers, employees, franchisees and shareholders as it represents an ideal platform for future growth opportunities.”
“At Pizza Hut International, we’re focusing all of our innovation, technology investments and franchise alliances on delivering the easiest, fastest and tastiest pizza experience wherever we operate,” said Enrique Ramirez, Global Chief Growth Officer, Pizza Hut. “Telepizza Group is the ideal partner to help us deliver on this focus across Latin America (excluding Brazil), the Caribbean, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland, because of their incredible depth and capability in franchise operations and supply chain management. Leveraging the strong experience of our Pizza Hut franchisees, we expect this to accelerate the growth of Pizza Hut with a best-of-both approach.”
Highlights of the alliance include:
- Spain and Portugal. In Spain, where Telepizza is the leading player, and in Portugal, Telepizza Group will continue operating the Telepizza brand, but it will also operate Pizza Hut stores and oversee Pizza Hut franchisees. Telepizza will leverage the best of Pizza Hut capabilities and well-known signature products.
- Latin America (excluding Brazil) and the Caribbean. As master franchisee, Telepizza Group will oversee Pizza Hut franchisees who will continue to operate Pizza Hut stores in Latin America (excluding Brazil) and the Caribbean. Telepizza Group will also progressively convert its existing stores in this region to Pizza Huts and leverage Pizza Hut’s brand awareness to accelerate store network expansion and boost entry into key growth markets.
- Unit Development Growth. Across the regions covered in the alliance, Telepizza Group will target opening at least 1,300 new stores over the next 10 years, and 2,550 stores total over 20 years. The vast majority of the new store openings will be Pizza Hut, including all stores in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Supply Chain: Telepizza Group will manage Pizza Hut’s supply chain in Latin America (excluding Brazil), the Caribbean, Spain (including Andorra), Portugal and Switzerland and will become an authorized supplier of Pizza Hut establishments. Both groups will explore further possibilities of collaboration in this field worldwide.
Completion of the alliance will be subject to certain conditions, including regulatory approvals and approval by Telepizza Group shareholders.
Impact to Telepizza
The alliance will nearly double Telepizza Group’s store portfolio to more than 2,500 units and €1.1 billion (1.3 Bn $) in system sales, making the company present in 37 countries with more than 500 million potential consumers. Telepizza Group will leverage its strong operational capabilities to crystallize the significant industrial synergies resulting from the combined platform, and will also benefit from its enlarged footprint to accelerate its international growth expansion. All this will be achieved without impacting Telepizza Group’s leverage profile nor its dividend policy and preserving Telepizza Group’s commitment with its current network of franchisees, targeting €100 million (120 M $) EBITDA by 2021.
Impact to Pizza Hut
This landmark deal moves Pizza Hut to the number one position in the category across Latin America and the Caribbean in terms of unit count. Across all the markets covered in the alliance, Telepizza Group will oversee nearly 1,000 Pizza Huts and contribute nearly 1,500 of its stores to Pizza Hut’s global unit count. Pizza Hut International franchisees in these regions will continue to operate their businesses, under the management of Telepizza Group as a Pizza Hut master franchisee. This strategic deal is a long-term initiative by Pizza Hut expected to result in accelerated unit development and operating profit growth on what will be a combined initial unit count of nearly 2,500 stores. The transaction is not expected to have a significant impact on Yum! Brands’ core operating results or cash flows over the next few years.
About Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), has more restaurant locations in the world than any other pizza company. Founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kan., Pizza Hut operates nearly 17,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries. For more information, visit www.pizzahut.com.
About Telepizza
Telepizza Group, headquartered in Madrid, operates in 23 countries with Telepizza and Jeno’s Pizza brands, among others, and celebrates 30 years with over 60 million pizzas delivered worldwide. The Company manages a total network of 1,607 stores including 441 owned stores and 1,166 franchisees and master franchisees (as of December 31, 2017) and is the leading player by number of stores in Spain, Portugal, Chile and Colombia. Total sales in its network, including owned stores, franchisees and master franchisees, recorded as chain sales, amounted €561.6 million in the 12 months ended December 31, 2017. Telepizza Group is listed in the Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia stock exchanges with its shares starting trading on April 27, 2016.
About Yum! Brands
Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, has over 45,000 restaurants in more than 135 countries and territories and is one of the Aon Hewitt Top Companies for Leaders in North America. In 2018, Yum! Brands was recognized as part of the inaugural Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and ranked among the top 100 Best Corporate Citizens by Corporate Responsibility Magazine. In 2017, Yum! Brands was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index. The company’s restaurant brands – KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell – are global leaders of the chicken, pizza and Mexican-style food categories. Worldwide, the Yum! Brands system opens over seven new restaurants per day on average, making it a leader in global retail development.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
This communication does not constitute an offer to purchase, sell or exchange or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, sell or exchange any securities. The shares of TELEPIZZA GROUP may not be offered or sold in the United States of America except pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act or pursuant to a valid exemption from registration.
This communication contains forward-looking information and statements about TELEPIZZA GROUP, including financial projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives and expectations with respect to future operations, capital expenditures, synergies, products and services, and statements regarding future performance. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally identified by the words “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates” and similar expressions.
Although TELEPIZZA GROUP believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors and holders of TELEPIZZA GROUP shares are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of TELEPIZZA GROUP, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include those discussed or identified in the documents sent by TELEPIZZA GROUP to the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. They have not been reviewed by the auditors of TELEPIZZA GROUP. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they were made. All oral or written forward-looking statements hereby made or otherwise attributable to TELEPIZZA GROUP or any of its members, directors, officers, employees or any persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified on its entirety by the cautionary statement above. All the forward-looking statements included herein are based on information available to TELEPIZZA GROUP on the date hereof. Except as required by applicable law, TELEPIZZA GROUP does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This announcement may contain “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. 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,” “expectation,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “may,” “could,” “intend,” “belief,” “plan,” “estimate,” “target,” “predict,” “likely,” “seek,” “project,” “model,” “ongoing,” “will,” “should,” “forecast,” “outlook,” “new store opening goals” or similar terminology. These statements are based on and reflect our current expectations, estimates, assumptions and/ or projections, our perception of historical trends and current conditions, as well as other factors that we believe are appropriate and reasonable under the circumstances. Forward-looking statements are neither predictions nor guarantees of future events, circumstances or performance and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by those statements. There can be no assurance that our expectations, estimates, assumptions and/or projections, including with respect to the future earnings and performance or capital structure of Yum! Brands, will prove to be correct or that any of our expectations, estimates or projections will be achieved.
Numerous factors could cause our actual results and events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: food safety and food borne-illness issues; health concerns arising from outbreaks of viruses or other diseases; the success of our franchisees and licensees, and the success of our transformation initiatives, including our refranchising strategy; our significant exposure to the Chinese market; changes in economic and political conditions in countries and territories outside of the U.S. where we operate; our ability to protect the integrity and security of individually identifiable data of our customers and employees; our increasing dependence on digital commerce platforms and information technology systems; the impact of social media; our ability to secure and maintain distribution and adequate supply to our restaurants; the success of our development strategy in emerging markets; changes in commodity, labor and other operating costs; pending or future litigation and legal claims or proceedings; changes in or noncompliance with government regulations, including labor standards and anti-bribery or anti-corruption laws; recent Tax Legislation (defined below) and other tax matters, including disagreements with taxing authorities; consumer preferences and perceptions of our brands; changes in consumer discretionary spending and general economic conditions; competition within the retail food industry; and risks relating to our significant amount of indebtedness. In addition, other risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial could affect the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty.
Information regarding the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“Tax Legislation”) consists of preliminary estimates which are forward-looking statements and are subject to change. Information regarding the impact of Tax Legislation is based on our current calculations, as well our current interpretations, assumptions and expectations relating to Tax Legislation, which are subject to further ongoing change.
The forward-looking statements included in this announcement are only made as of the date of this announcement and we disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
More Information
Yum! Brands, Inc.
Analysts:
Keith Siegner, 888-298-6986
Vice President, Investor Relations, Corporate Strategy and Treasurer
or
Kelly Knybel, 888-298-6986
Director, Investor Relations
or
Media:
Virginia Ferguson, 502-874-8200
Director, Public Relations
Telepizza Group
Analysts:
+34 916576200
inversores@telepizza.com
or
Media:
Miguel Justribó, + 34 626338993 / +34 646844460
miguel.justribo@telepizza.com
or
Omnicom PR Group
Víctor Acero / Rosa Fernández / Idoia Revuelta
+34 917883200 / +34 680449126 / +34 606077813
victor.acero@omnicomprgroup.com / rosa.fernandez@omnicomprgroup.com / Idoia.revuelta@omnicomprgroup.com
Pizza Hut y Grupo Telepizza anuncian una alianza estratégica para su crecimiento internacional
- Pizza Hut duplica su presencia en las regiones que cubre la alianza; se sitúa como nº1 de su categoría en América Latina y el Caribe por número de establecimientos; y consolida su posición como la compañía de restaurantes de pizza más grande del mundo
- Grupo Telepizza se convierte en un operador líder mundial de pizza y en el mayor master franquiciado de Pizza Hut del mundo por número de establecimientos
- El acuerdo prácticamente duplica el número de establecimientos de Grupo Telepizza a más de 2.500 y sus ventas sistema hasta los 1.100 millones de euros anuales [1.3 Bn $], además tendrá presencia en 37 países con más de 500 millones de consumidores potenciales
- La alianza contempla la apertura de 1.300 establecimientos nuevos en los próximos 10 años por parte de Grupo Telepizza en las regiones que cubre el acuerdo:España, Portugal, América Latina (excluyendo a Brasil), el Caribe y Suiza
Plano, Texas, y Madrid, España, 16 de mayo de 2018 – Pizza Hut, división de Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) y la mayor compañía de restaurantes de pizza del mundo con casi 17,000 restaurantes en más de 100 países, y Grupo Telepizza (BME: TPZ), la mayor compañía no estadounidense de entrega de pizzas a domicilio con más de 1,600 establecimientos en más de 20 países, han anunciado hoy una alianza estratégica y un acuerdo de master franquicia para acelerar su crecimiento en América Latina (excluyendo Brasil), el Caribe, España, Andorra, Portugal y Suiza.
Este acuerdo dobla la presencia de Pizza Hut en las regiones que cubre la alianza entre ambos grupos; sitúa a la compañía como número 1 de su categoría en América Latina y el Caribe por número de establecimientos; y consolida su posición como la mayor compañía de restaurantes de pizza del mundo. Como resultado del acuerdo, Grupo Telepizza se convierte en el mayor master franquiciado de Pizza Hut del mundo por número de establecimientos y en un operador líder mundial de pizza.
"Este acuerdo pionero es un hito importante en nuestro camino para convertirnos en la marca de pizza más querida y de mayor crecimiento en el mundo, y Grupo Telepizza es el socio ideal, por su capacidad, compromiso y capital, para acelerar la expansión de Pizza Hut en regiones de alto crecimiento como América Latina ", aseguró Milind Pant, presidente de Pizza Hut International. "Geográficamente, este acuerdo con Grupo Telepizza hará a Pizza Hut más accesible, alcanzando a más consumidores paulatinamente ayudando de esta manera a cumplir nuestra misión de facilitar la compra de una pizza de mejor calidad".
“Nuestra alianza con Pizza Hut cumple con el plan estratégico de Grupo Telepizza de transformar el reparto de pizza a domicilio con un modelo enfocado en mejorar la experiencia del cliente a través de las mejores capacidades operativas del mercado”, asegura Pablo Juantegui, presidente ejecutivo y CEO de Telepizza. “El acuerdo acelera nuestro plan de crecimiento global y prácticamente duplica la dimensión de nuestro negocio y extiende nuestro alcance internacional a 37 países, que representan a más de 500 millones de consumidores potenciales. Las aspiraciones y capacidades de Grupo Telepizza y Pizza Hut son complementarias, y confiamos en que este acuerdo generará un valor significativo para nuestros clientes, empleados, franquiciados y accionistas, ya que representa una plataforma ideal para futuras oportunidades de crecimiento”
“En Pizza Hut International, toda nuestra inovacion, inversiones en tecnología y alianzas estratégicas tienen por objeto ofrecer a nuestros clientes las mejores pizzas de la manera mas rápida y fácil posible dondequiera que operemos, lo que en ingles llamamos “the easiest, fastest, tastiest pizza experience”, explicó Enrique Ramirez, Chief Growth Officer global de Pizza Hut. “Grupo Telepizza es el socio ideal para ayudarnos a hacer esto realidad en Latinoamerica (excluyendo Brasil), el Caribe, España, Portugal y Suiza debido a su profunda capacidad y experiencia operativa en entrega de pizzas a domicilio y en la gestión de la cadena de suministro. Esperamos que esto, combinado con la gran experiencia de los franquiciados actuales de Pizza Hut en las regiones de la alianza, acelere el crecimiento de Pizza Hut con lo mejor de los dos mundos”.
Los puntos clave del acuerdo:
- España y Portugal. En España, donde Telepizza es líder de mercado, y en Portugal, Grupo Telepizza continuará operando y desarrollando la marca Telepizza, pero también operará los establecimientos de Pizza Hut y supervisará los franquiciados de Pizza Hut. Grupo Telepizza aprovechará las capacidades y los productos más reconocidos de Pizza Hut.
- América Latina y el Caribe (excluyendo Brasil). Como master franquiciado, Grupo Telepizza supervisará los franquiciados de Pizza Hut, que continuarán operando los establecimientos de la marca en Latinoamérica (excluyendo Brasil) y el Caribe. Además, Grupo Telepizza convertirá progresivamente sus establecimientos existentes en esta región a Pizza Hut y aprovechará el conocimiento de la marca de Pizza Hut para acelerar la expansión de la red de establecimientos e impulsar la entrada en mercados clave de crecimiento.
- Desarrollo de nuevos establecimientos. Grupo Telepizza abrirá al menos 1.300 nuevos establecimientos en los próximos 10 años, y 2.550 en total en 20 años en todas las regiones que cubre la alianza. La gran mayoría de las nuevas aperturas serán restaurantes de Pizza Hut, incluidas todas las aperturas en América Latina y el Caribe.
- Cadena de sumistro: Grupo Telepizza administrará la cadena de suministro de Pizza Hut en América Latina (excluyendo Brasil), el Caribe, España, Andorra, Portugal y Suiza y se convertirá en un proveedor autorizado de los establecimientos de Pizza Hut. Ambas compañías explorarán otras posibilidades de colaboración en este ámbito en todo el mundo.
El cierre de esta alianza estratégica estará sujeta a ciertas condiciones, incluidas las aprobaciones regulatorias y la aprobación de los accionistas del Grupo Telepizza.
Impacto en Grupo Telepizza
El acuerdo prácticamente duplica el número de establecimientos de Grupo Telepizza a más de 2.500 y sus ventas sistema hasta los 1.100 millones de euros anuales, [1.3 Bn $] expandiendo su presencia a 37 países con más de 500 millones de consumidores potenciales. Grupo Telepizza aprovechará sus capacidades operativas para generar sinergias resultantes de la alianza y se beneficiará de su mayor escala para acelerar su expansión internacional. Todo ello se logrará sin afectar al apalancamiento del Grupo y su política de dividendos ni el compromiso del Grupo con su red actual de franquiciados. El objetivo es alcanzar un EBITDA de aproximadamente 100 millones de euros [120 M $] en el año 2021.
Impacto en Pizza Hut
Este acuerdo histórico coloca a Pizza Hut en la posición número uno en la categoría en América Latina y el Caribe por número de establecimientos. Grupo Telepizza supervisará casi 1.000 Pizza Huts y contribuirá con casi 1.500 de sus tiendas al número global de establecimientos de Pizza Hut. Los franquiciados de Pizza Hut en estos mercados continuarán operando sus establecimientos bajo la gestión del Grupo Telepizza como master franquiciado de Pizza Hut. Esta es una alianza estratégica para Pizza Hut que se espera resulte en un crecimiento acelerado de tiendas nuevas y en un aumento del beneficio operativo a largo plazo dado un número combinado inicial de casi 2.500 establecimientos. Sin embargo, no se espera que la operación tenga un impacto significativo en los resultados operativos de Yum! Brands o el flujo de caja en los primeros años del acuerdo.
Sobre Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut, empresa subsidiaria de Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) tiene más restaurantes en el mundo que cualquier otra compañía de pizza. Fundada en 1958 en Wichita, Kan., Pizza Hut opera casi 17,000 restaurantes en más de 100 países. Para obtener más información, visite www.pizzahut.com.
Sobre Telepizza
Grupo Telepizza, con sede en Madrid, opera en 23 países con las marcas Telepizza, Jeno’s Pizza y Apache Pizza, y cumple 30 años con más de 60 millones de pizzas vendidas en todo el mundo. Cuenta con una red total de 1.607 tiendas que incluye 441 tiendas propias y 1.166 franquiciadas y master franquicias, a 31 de diciembre de 2017, y es líder de mercado por número de tiendas en España, Portugal, Chile y Colombia.
Las ventas totales en su red, incluyendo franquiciados y máster franquiciados, que se registran como ventas cadena, ascendieron a 561,6 millones de euros en los 12 meses hasta 31 de diciembre de 2017.
Grupo Telepizza cotiza en las bolsas de Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid y Valencia, desde el 27 de abril de 2016.
Sobre Yum! Brands
Yum! Brands, Inc., con sede en Louisville, Kentucky, tiene más de 45,000 restaurantes en más de 135 países y territorios y es una de las Top Companies for Leaders de Aon Hewitt en América del Norte. En 2018, Yum! Brands fue reconocido como parte del Índice de Igualdad de Género de Bloomberg. En 2017, Yum! Brands fue nombrada en el Índice Dow Jones de Sostenibilidad para América del Norte y clasificada entre las 100 Best Corporate Citizens por la revista Corporate Responsibility. Las marcas de restaurantes de la compañía, KFC, Pizza Hut y Taco Bell, son líderes mundiales en las categorías de pollo, pizza y comida mexicana. En todo el mundo, el sistema Yum! Brands abre, de media, más de siete restaurantes nuevos cada día, por lo que es un líder en el desarrollo minorista global.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
This communication does not constitute an offer to purchase, sell or exchange or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, sell or exchange any securities. The shares of TELEPIZZA GROUP may not be offered or sold in the United States of America except pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act or pursuant to a valid exemption from registration.
This communication contains forward-looking information and statements about TELEPIZZA GROUP, including financial projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives and expectations with respect to future operations, capital expenditures, synergies, products and services, and statements regarding future performance. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally identified by the words “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates” and similar expressions.
Although TELEPIZZA GROUP believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors and holders of TELEPIZZA GROUP shares are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of TELEPIZZA GROUP, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include those discussed or identified in the documents sent by TELEPIZZA GROUP to the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. They have not been reviewed by the auditors of TELEPIZZA GROUP. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they were made. All oral or written forward-looking statements hereby made or otherwise attributable to TELEPIZZA GROUP or any of its members, directors, officers, employees or any persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified on its entirety by the cautionary statement above. All the forward-looking statements included herein are based on information available to TELEPIZZA GROUP on the date hereof. Except as required by applicable law, TELEPIZZA GROUP does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This announcement may contain “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. 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,” “expectation,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “may,” “could,” “intend,” “belief,” “plan,” “estimate,” “target,” “predict,” “likely,” “seek,” “project,” “model,” “ongoing,” “will,” “should,” “forecast,” “outlook,” “new store opening goals” or similar terminology. These statements are based on and reflect our current expectations, estimates, assumptions and/ or projections, our perception of historical trends and current conditions, as well as other factors that we believe are appropriate and reasonable under the circumstances. Forward-looking statements are neither predictions nor guarantees of future events, circumstances or performance and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by those statements. There can be no assurance that our expectations, estimates, assumptions and/or projections, including with respect to the future earnings and performance or capital structure of Yum! Brands, will prove to be correct or that any of our expectations, estimates or projections will be achieved.
Numerous factors could cause our actual results and events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: food safety and food borne-illness issues; health concerns arising from outbreaks of viruses or other diseases; the success of our franchisees and licensees, and the success of our transformation initiatives, including our refranchising strategy; our significant exposure to the Chinese market; changes in economic and political conditions in countries and territories outside of the U.S. where we operate; our ability to protect the integrity and security of individually identifiable data of our customers and employees; our increasing dependence on digital commerce platforms and information technology systems; the impact of social media; our ability to secure and maintain distribution and adequate supply to our restaurants; the success of our development strategy in emerging markets; changes in commodity, labor and other operating costs; pending or future litigation and legal claims or proceedings; changes in or noncompliance with government regulations, including labor standards and anti-bribery or anti-corruption laws; recent Tax Legislation (defined below) and other tax matters, including disagreements with taxing authorities; consumer preferences and perceptions of our brands; changes in consumer discretionary spending and general economic conditions; competition within the retail food industry; and risks relating to our significant amount of indebtedness. In addition, other risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial could affect the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty.
Information regarding the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“Tax Legislation”) consists of preliminary estimates which are forward-looking statements and are subject to change. Information regarding the impact of Tax Legislation is based on our current calculations, as well our current interpretations, assumptions and expectations relating to Tax Legislation, which are subject to further ongoing change.
The forward-looking statements included in this announcement are only made as of the date of this announcement and we disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.