Yum China Holdings , which owns the KFC and Pizza Hut restaurant chains in mainland China, will open another 1,100 to 1,300 stores this year. The firm is betting on China’s reopening and hopes “the worst is over”, Andy Yeung, Yum China’s chief financial officer, said during a results briefing late on Wednesday. “We are full of hope and will keep cautiously optimistic,” he said. “While we have seen some recovery, there are still uncertainties ahead and consumers tend to be careful with their spending.” The firm reported an 89 per cent year-on-year plunge in net income for the three months ending in December 2022, according to its filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange. Revenue between October and December dropped 9 per cent year on year to US$2.09 billion. Net income for the whole of 2022 was down 55 per cent year on year to US$442 million, while full-year revenue decreased slightly to US$9.57 billion when compared with its 2021 result. KFC’s Chinese operator shuts struggling East Dawning fast-food chain “Due to widespread infections, we experienced a shortage of restaurant staff, which led to over 1,300 stores on average being either temporarily closed or offering limited services in December. As a significant portion of the population was either infected or chose to stay home to avoid infection, dine-in traffic declined substantially ,” Yum China said in its filing. Its adjusted earnings per share for the year stood at 13 cents, on par with a consensus among analysts polled by Bloomberg. The firm plans to spend US$700 million to US$900 million on expansion this year. Its target for 2023 is slightly higher than the net 1,159 new stores it opened last year. “Our plan is based on a recent sales increase and our stable performance during the past three years,” Yeung said. “It is a new chapter and we hope to capture the opportunity to grow.” A recovery in consumption is widely expected after China abandoned its zero-Covid restrictions in December. “Our analysts witnessed almost a full recovery in dining, box office, local travel and high-end offline retail across all city tiers [in mainland China], reaching or even surpassing 2019 levels,” Hans Fan, deputy head of Hong Kong and China research, and Liu Boyang, China economist, said in the latest report released by investment bank CLSA. “Crowds were seen in malls, tourist spots and temples.” China’s KFC, Pizza Hut operator to slash use of plastic bags, straws Yum China said sales had recovered last month, following the relaxation of Beijing’s zero-Covid policies. During the Lunar New Year holiday from January 21 to 27 this year, Yum China reported year-on-year mid-single digit growth in average same-store sales. The company was also planning for a new wave of Covid-19 infections. “We carefully planned our restaurant staffing and rider resources to ensure operational excellence, [and were] ready to meet consumer demand,” said Joey Wat, Yum China’s CEO. “Our readiness will help us shine, in good times and bad.”