New York —
Taco Bell’s parent company, Yum Brands, reported robust sales and profit in the second quarter. But more recent sales took a hit after the cyclospora outbreak plunged the company’s most important brand into a food-safety crisis.
Sales at Taco Bell have fallen 2% from the end of June through July 27, executives said an earnings call Thursday. The sales impact bottomed out on Saturday, July 18, shortly after US health officials identified the chain in their investigation.
Yum Brands’ stock, which has fallen about 8% since Taco Bell was linked to the outbreak, initially slipped in pre-market trading but turned positive after the earnings call.
The earnings covered the April-June quarter, or the three months before the outbreak. Yum Brands reported $853 million in net income, more than double the $374 million from the same quarter a year ago. Sales from all KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell stores open at least one year grew 3% worldwide. For Taco Bell, the company’s growth engine in recent years, sales at existing locations grew 7%.
