Fast food restaurants operator Yum Brands (NYSE:YUM) has replaced the head of its China division as it seeks to reverse a sales decline there.
Sam Su, long time boss of the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands owner’s operations in the People’s Republic, is retiring, and will be replaced by Micky Pant, the chief executive officer (CEO) of KFC.
The company also named new CEOs of its KFC and Pizza Hut businesses in China.
The country is the single biggest contributor to the company’s profits, but its reputation has been damaged in China by allegations made last year by a former supplier of poor food handling procedures.
Sales in established branches in China fell 10% from a year earlier in the second quarter of 2015, which was the fourth quarter in a row that it had suffered double-digit percentage falls, although the company said it expected sales to pick up in the second half of the year.
Shares in Yum Brands rose 2.1% to US$86 in after-market trading, having closed yesterday at US%84.20, down 1% on the day.