Yum Brands, owner of the KFC and Pizza Hut fast-food chains, on Wednesday raised its earnings-per-share outlook for next year by 12 per cent as the company booked its biggest quarterly profit rise in a year amid rapid growth in China.

Worldwide operating profit at Yum rose by 10 per cent in the third quarter. The company said it was likely to exceed an earlier target for the full year of opening 1,100 new restaurants globally.