Burger King 2012 Annual Report Download - page 21

Table of Contents
master franchise arrangements provide us with experienced local business partners in foreign countries, events or issues, including disagreements with our
partners, may occur that require attention of our senior executives and may result in expenses or losses that erode the profitability of our foreign operations.
In addition, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or “FCPA,” and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws generally prohibit companies and their
intermediaries from making improper payments to government officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Our policies mandate compliance
with these laws. Despite our compliance programs, we cannot assure you that our internal control policies and procedures always will protect us from reckless
or negligent acts committed by our employees, agents, joint venture partners or franchisees. Violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, may
have a negative effect on our results of operations, financial condition and reputation.

We plan to significantly increase worldwide restaurant count. A significant component of our future growth strategy involves increasing our net
restaurant count in our international markets. We and our franchisees face many challenges in opening new restaurants, including, among others:
• the selection and availability of suitable restaurant locations;
• the impact of local tax, zoning, land use and environmental rules and regulations on our ability and the ability of our franchisees to develop
restaurants, and the impact of any material difficulties or failures that we and our franchisees experience in obtaining the necessary licenses and
approvals for new restaurants;
• the negotiation of acceptable lease terms;
• the availability of bank credit and, for franchise restaurants, the ability of franchisees to obtain acceptable financing terms;
• securing acceptable suppliers;
• employing and training qualified personnel; and
• consumer preferences and local market conditions.
In the past, we have approved franchisees that were unsuccessful in implementing their expansion plans, particularly in new markets. There can be no
assurance that we will be able to identify franchisees who meet our criteria, or if we identify such franchisees, that they will successfully implement their
expansion plans.

As of December 31, 2012, our restaurants were operated, directly by us or by franchisees, in 86 countries and U.S. territories (including Guam and
Puerto Rico, which are considered part of our international business). During 2012, our revenues from international operations represented 43% of total
revenues and we intend to continue expansion of our international operations. As a result, our business is increasingly exposed to risks inherent in foreign
operations. These risks, which can vary substantially by market, are described in many of the risk factors discussed in the section and include the following:
• governmental laws, regulations and policies adopted to manage national economic conditions, such as increases in taxes, austerity measures that
impact consumer spending, monetary policies that may impact inflation rates and currency fluctuations;
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Source: Burger King Worldwide, Inc., 10-K, February 22, 2013 Powered by Morningstar® Document Research℠
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