Burger King, Tim Hortons Owner's Sales Up 5.5%

Restaurant Brands International , owner of Burger King and Tim Hortons, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by new menu items and lower costs.

Total comparable sales at Burger King rose 1.7 percent in the quarter ended Sept. 30, mostly due to higher demand in Asia Pacific and Latin America.

The rise was much smaller than the 6.2 percent rise a year earlier, due to decreased demand in the United States and Canada, where Burger King faces tough competition from food chains such as McDonald's and Wendy's.

U.S. restaurants are also battling intense competition from upstart chains and meal-kit sellers, in addition to getting battered by falling grocery prices, which are encouraging more people to eat at home.

Total comparable sales at Tim Hortons, which operates mainly in Canada, rose 2 percent in the quarter, compared with a growth of 5.3 percent last year.

Total costs and expenses for Restaurant Brands fell 3 percent to $655.2 million.

The company's net profit attributable to shareholders rose to $86.3 million, or 36 cents per share, in the third quarter, from $49.6 million, or 24 cents per share, a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands earned 43 cents per share, beating the analysts' average estimate of 40 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Oakville, Ontario-based company's revenue rose 5.5 percent to $1.08 billion, missing analysts' estimate of $1.06 billion.

(Reporting by Anet Josline Pinto in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)