Solid growth for Tim Hortons and Burger King in first year after RBI merger

2015 was a big year for both Tim Hortons and Burger King. After the Canada-based breakfast chain and the US-based burger giant merged at the end of 2014 to form parent entity Restaurant Brands International, the next fiscal year would show whether that merger was a win for the brands or a loss. From the end of Q1, it started to become clear that the business decision was the right one: initial financial results indicated 5.3 percent growth for the Tim Hortons brand and 4.6 percent growth for Burger King.

This week RBI released its Full Year 2015 financial report, and the numbers show that the growth in Q1 was not a fluke. Over the course of the fiscal year, Burger King saw a comparable sales increase of 5.4 percent; meanwhile Tim Hortons comparable sales increased by a substantial 5.6 percent.

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In addition, system-wide sales at Tim Hortons grew 9.3 percent (Burger King took that system-wide growth even further with a 10.3 percent increase). Overall, in the 2015 fiscal year RBI was able to return $0.44 per share in dividends to its shareholders—a 46.7 percent increase over what Burger King Worldwide delivered the year before.

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"We had a great first year as RBI, finishing the fourth quarter with strong results at both of our iconic brands, TIM HORTONS® and BURGER KING®,” said RBI chief executive officer Daniel Schwartz in a statement from the brand. “Successful product launches combined with significant net restaurant growth drove performance this year and our franchisees achieved meaningful levels of profitability. We continue to be excited about future opportunities at TIM HORTONS® and BURGER KING® and are committed to building long-term sustainable growth for years to come."