Yum Brands, owner of KFC and Pizza Hut, said a key sales figure for the mainland dropped 19 per cent last month, as it began to see signs of recovery from the double-whammy of a bird flu scare and an earlier controversy over its chicken supply.
The drop is an improvement from the 29 per cent fall seen in April. The company said the latest figure reflected a 25 per cent fall at KFC and 12 per cent growth at Pizza Hut.
On Monday, McDonald's also blamed fears over bird flu for a decline in mainland sales for the month.
Yum said it expected sales at established restaurants to continue recovering over the course of the year and to turn positive in the fourth quarter.
Although publicity around the bird flu continued to have a "significant, negative impact" last month, it said the impact of past cases of bird flu had been short-lived.
"Based on current trends, we believe this will again be the case," the company said.