Restaurant Brands International Inc., which owns Tim Hortons and Burger King, says it “couldn’t have asked for a better first year” and plans for “more of the same on the sales front” in 2016.

“The big difference that we’d like to see in the second year, from the first year, particularly on the Tim Hortons side, is the acceleration of the pace of development of Tims all around the world and in the U.S. where I think we’ve done a good job laying the foundation for future growth,” said CEO Daniel Schwartz.

On Tuesday, the company posted net income attributable to common shareholders of $51.7 million (U.S.), or 25 cents a share, compared with a loss of $510.8 million, or $2.50, a year earlier. Total company revenue was $1.06 billion, topping analysts’ $1.03 billion average estimate.

Tim Hortons same-store sales jumped 6.3 per cent, driven by continued strength in coffee and new launches, including grilled wraps and Nutella pockets, said executives in an earnings call discussing full year and fourth quarter 2015 financial results with analysts.

Tim Hortons currently has 650 stores in the U.S., having added just one last year. However, the coffee and baked goods giant has closed underperforming locations in New York and Maine and inked major deals in Ohio and Indiana.

“There’s a lot of value to be created by growing in adjacent markets where we can build out brand awareness in markets that are near each other; and we can give a lot of operational efficiency, as well, as we kind of develop the presence of the brand, and a lot of unit density so that people can find Tim Hortons wherever they go,” said company CFO Joshua Kobza.

Added Schwartz: “We spent some time analyzing our Tim Hortons business in the U.S. and we’ve signed several of these aggressive development agreements with well-capitalized, strong partners to accelerate the pace of Tims in the U.S. In 2016 we really look to start seeing that acceleration of the Tim Hortons brand in the U.S. and other markets.”

While Tim Hortons nearly doubled its international count to 113 stores in 2015, most of the new additions occurred in Canada where 99 new locations opened for total of 3,650.

Here, some reusable cup beverage drinkers have been seeking a more eco-friendly way to participate in the company’s popular “Roll Up The Rim To Win” contest. A petition on Change.org, which claims the contest increases disposable cup use by 30 per cent, has garnered 18,000 signatures asking the company to give reusable mug users a way to participate without the paper cup.

“We’re aware of it and guests that want to participate in the Roll Up The Rim contest and use their recyclable or reusable mugs, they can play online with our online game,” said Kobza.

But the petition organizer has said that playing online with their receipt does not reduce the number of people who buy paper cups, since it’s a separate prize pool and anyone can play.

On the Burger King side, where same-store sales climbed 3.9 per cent in the quarter, driven by breakfast growth and limited offerings like buffalo chicken fries and the A1 Halloween Whopper sandwich, the company continues to experiment, now rolling out grilled hotdogs in the U.S.

“It’s our flame-grilled twist on one of America’s favourite foods,” said Schwartz. “It’s operationally simple, yet impactful, and we think we could sell a lot of them.”

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