Yum's India unit gains independence

KFC parent Yum Brands Inc said on Tuesday it is making its India division a stand-alone unit, as the fast-food restaurant operator seeks to expand in that rapidly growing market.

As part of the effort, Yum named Niren Chaudhary, 48, president of the new India division. Chaudhary joined the company in 1994 and took over Yum's India operations in 2007. He will report directly to Yum Chief Executive David Novak.

Yum said it has more than 100 KFC restaurants and 175 Pizza Hut restaurants in India.

Yum's No. 1 market for profit and revenue is China, with nearly 4,200 restaurants.

"There is clear evidence we are at the same stage of development as we were in China at a similar juncture in its life cycle, and I'm confident we will turn India into a major growth engine," Novak said.

China's third-quarter revenue was $1.6 billion. The U.S. and international divisions together reported about the same amount of revenue.

Yum also said it promoted Micky Pant, 57, from president to CEO of Yum Restaurants International, replacing Graham Allan, 56, who is retiring early next year.

At the end of the third quarter, Yum's international division included 14,500 restaurants in locations such as Europe, the Middle East, South America, Africa and India.

Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum is the world's largest restaurant company in terms of units, with more than 38,000 restaurants in more than 110 countries and territories.

Yum shares were up 2.7 percent at $54.94 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles and Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bangalore, Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Gunna Dickson)