Burger King 3Q earnings climb, costs fall BURGER King's third-quarter net income has surged as it sharply reduces its restaurant expenses mostly due to the refranchising of company-owned outlets and the fast-food provider continues to grow overseas. The Miami company's performance topped analysts' estimates. It also raised its quarterly dividend. Shares rose almost five per cent in morning trading. Burger King Worldwide Inc has been revamping its business since it was purchased in 2010 by 3G Capital, a private investment firm run by Brazilian billionaires. The company has been selling more restaurants to franchisees in a bid to reduce overhead costs. Instead of booking sales from those restaurants, Burger King collects franchise fees. For the three months ended September 30, the hamburger chain earned $US68.2 million ($A71.34 million), or 19 US cents per share. A year earlier it earned $US6.6 million, or two US cents per share. Excluding certain items, earnings were 23 US cents per share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of 21 US cents per share. Restaurant expenses dropped to $US22.9 million from $US216.3 million. Burger King also managed to lower significantly its selling, general and administrative expenses and other operating expenses. Revenue declined 40 per cent to $US275.1 million from $US455.7 million mostly due to the refranchising of 519 company-owned restaurants. But it still managed to beat Wall Street's forecast of $US264.5 million. Stripping out the impact of the refranchising and foreign currency fluctuations, revenue rose 8.1 per cent. Sales at restaurants open at least a year, including both company-owned and franchised locations, rose 0.9 per cent. This figure is a key indicator of a restaurant operator's health because it excludes results from locations recently opened or closed. The strongest performance was in the Asia Pacific region, which posted a 3.7 per cent rise in the metric. Latin America and the Caribbean and Europe, the Middle East and Africa also reported improved sales. There was some softness in the US and Canada though, with sales at restaurants open at least a year dipping 0.3 per cent. This was due to tightened consumer spending and ongoing competition. Burger King boosted its quarterly dividend to seven US cents per share from six US cents per share. The dividend will be paid on November 26 to shareholders of record on November 12. The company, founded in 1954, has more than 13,000 restaurants in 91 countries and territories worldwide. Its stock gained 97 US cents, or 4.9 per cent, to $US20.73 in morning trading. Its shares have risen about 16 per cent so far this year.