NZ's Restaurant Brands may sell Pizza Hut franchise

WELLINGTON, June 19 (Reuters) - New Zealand fast food retailer Restaurant Brands Ltd (RBD.NZ: Quote, Profile, Research), said on Thursday it may sell its underperforming Pizza Hut chain if it cannot turn the business around. Restaurant Brands, which operates the Pizza Hut, KFC and Starbucks chains in New Zealand, said the pizza chain's performance was an unacceptable drag on the company. "The board will consider any actions that might end the drain by Pizza Hut on company profits, including its sale, if the turnaround is not forthcoming," chairman Ted Van Arkel told the company's annual meeting.

Pizza Hut, which accounts for about a quarter of the group's sales, was operating in a crowded market, and had seen sales slump the company said.

Restaurant Brands would look at lowering operating costs, simplifying pricing, and revamping menus in a bid to make individual stores more profitable. Van Arkel said the KFC and Starbucks' brands were both performing well, contributing to a 69 percent lift in net profit for the year to February 2008 to NZ$11 million ($8.3 million). (NZ$1=$1.32) (Reporting by Adrian Bathgate)