Americana Restaurants, operator of US fast-food brands in Middle East, posts 54% fall in profit
Adds revenue, company background, financial details throughout
Oct 30 (Reuters) -Americana Restaurants International AMR.AD, which operates U.S. fast food brands in the Middle East, said on Wednesday that third-quarter net profit fell 54.3% from the year-ago period, amid a regional consumer boycott of American brands to protest U.S. support for Israel.
Americana, which operates brands including KFC, Krispy Kreme and Pizza Hut in the Middle East, North Africa and Kazakhstan, recorded a net profit attributable to the shareholders of the parent company of $37.4 million in the third quarter of 2024, it said in a statement.
Americana's revenue for the first nine months of 2024 was $1.61 billion, down 15.2% on the same period last year.
The company, which trades in the Middle East, North Africa and Kazakhstan, said that "the evolving regional geopolitical situation and slowness in consumer demand" had impacted its top-line growth.
Americana is listed on stock exchanges in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, where its shares have dropped by 24% this year.
Consumer boycotts in several Muslim-majority countries have, in the last year, targeted American brands in protest of U.S. support for Israel's military operations, especially its ongoing assault on Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank.
The boycott has impacted Gulf retail giant AlShaya Group, which operates Starbucks in the region, sources told Reuters in March, when the company laid off more than 2,000 staff.
Starbucks SBUX.O said in January that the Israel-Hamas war has hurt its business in the region as it missed market expectations for first-quarter results.
U.S. soft drink brands - seen by some as symbols of the United States - have also faced challenges in the last year with sales of Coca-Cola plummeting in Egypt and rival Pepsi's rapid regional growth grinding to a halt.
Reporting by Andrew Mills in Doha, Hadeel Al Sayegh in Riyadh and Yomna Ehab in Cairo
Editing by Matthew Lewis
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