Yum China
Q1 2023 Earnings Call
May 02, 2023, 8:00 p.m. ET
Contents:
- Prepared Remarks
- Questions and Answers
- Call Participants
Prepared Remarks:
Operator
Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Yum China first quarter 2023 earnings conference call. [Operator instructions] I would now like to hand the conference over to Ms. Michelle Shen, IR director. Please go ahead.
Michelle Shen -- Investor Relations Director
Thank you, Ashley. Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining Yum China's first quarter 2023 earnings conference call. On today's call are our CEO, Ms.
Joey Wat; and our CFO, Mr. Andy Yeung. Before we get started, I'd like to remind you that our earnings call and investor materials contain forward-looking statements, which are subject to future events and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements.
All forward-looking statements should be considered in conjunction with the cautionary statement in our earnings release and the risk factors included in our filings with the SEC. This call also includes certain non-GAAP financial measures. You should carefully consider the comparable GAAP measures. Reconciliation of non-GAAP and the GAAP measures is included in our earnings release.
You can find the webcast of this call and a PowerPoint presentation on our IR website. Now I would like to turn the call over to Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China. Joey?
Joey Wat -- Chief Executive Officer
Thank you, Michelle. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. We are pleased to have set new records for first quarter revenue and operating profit. It's a wonderful start to 2023, like the Chinese saying, [Foreign language].
I want to thank all of our 400,000-plus employees. Without their hard work and dedication, our performance will not be possible. System sales grew 17% year over year. Back in early January, we had low visibility into how conditions will unfold after the relaxation of strict COVID measures.
Chinese New Year is a critical trading period for us. This year, an earlier Chinese New Year was particularly challenging due to shorter ramp-up period. We planned for multiple scenarios incorporating regional differences and focused on driving sales based on the more optimistic scenarios. Therefore, we were able to effectively deploy resources as opportunities emerged.
Operating profit more than doubled to $416 million. Our efforts in enhancing operational efficiency and replacing our cost structure in the past few years contributed to strong profitability in the quarter. And our system sales growth compared to 2019 is plus 20%, and operating profit also compared to 2019 is plus 37%. These results exemplify our ability to stay resilient in challenging times and seize opportunities when better times emerge.