Pizza Hut 1999 Annual Report Download - page 7

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Please find page 7 of the 1999 Pizza Hut annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

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5
effective tax rate, providing an annual cash benefit to Tricon that ulti-
mately increases shareholder returns. As a result of progress we’ve
made implementing our financial strategies, we’ve greatly strengthened our
balance sheet and increased our financial flexibility.
In 2000, we expect to generate close to $500 million in free cash flow, enabling us to reinvest in the
business by continuing to upgrade our assets and open new restaurants while also buying back shares.
Looking Ahead: Our outlook for 2000 remains optimistic off our strong 1999 results and the demonstrable progress that we’re
making on these five performance drivers. We’re on track to deliver 2-3% combined U.S. same store sales growth, 6% systemwide
sales growth, and an ongoing operating earnings per share growth in the range of 23 to 27%, on top of our 41% increase in 1999.
However, it’s too early to know for certain what the impact to our results, if any, might be as a result of the recent Chapter 11 bank-
ruptcy filing by AmeriServe, our principal U.S. distributor. We’re pleased that we’ve been able to maintain service to our restaurants
in a cost-effective manner to date, and we intend to continue this performance in the future.
We’re going to stay focused on our performance drivers in all that we do to make Tricon a great investment for our shareholders
over the long-term. We are putting the building blocks in place to drive dynasty-like performance. In fact, Tricon has all the char-
acteristics to become one of the world’s great companies over time: leading brands, a proven international business, tremendous
cash flow to fund reinvestment — and the people to make it happen. Our goal is to become nothing less than a “dynasty” by driv-
ing consistent performance, year after year. On the next page, you’ll see how we communicated this vision to our system’s employees
and franchisees on New Year’s Day.
As you read further, you’ll notice a lot of energetic people who will tell you what we’ve done and what we’re going to
do to keep moving forward. In fact, on our front cover, we’ve featured three of our Restaurant General Managers —
our #1 leaders — who represent a system built around restaurant teams committed to serving customers better than
anyone. David Alston (KFC), Jackie Lopez (Pizza Hut) and Carlos Diaz (Taco Bell) are demonstrating our “YUM
Cheer” — the way we begin every major system meeting, because we know if we put a “YUM” on our customers’
faces, our financial results and shareholder returns will follow. We’d like to thank the nearly 600,000 people across
the Tricon system, our franchise partners and outstanding Board of Directors for their dedication and inspired ideas.
From all of us at Tricon, YUM to you,
David C. Novak CEO Andrall E. Pearson Chairman