Tim Hortons’ parent posts $364M profit in Q3 even as costs rise

globalnews.ca:

Long associated with morning coffee runs and breakfast, Tim Hortons is setting its sights on dominating the second half of the day too.

“We are really super excited about the opportunities to be had in the p.m. food area, so really serving more Canadians for lunch and dinner and in the afternoon,” said Axel Schwan, president of Tim Hortons Canada and U.S., in a Friday interview.

“That’s a big priority for us.”

The food services brand owned by parent company Restaurant Brands International Inc. has so far been focused on bolstering business in the latter portion of the day by building out its food offerings beyond breakfast sandwiches, coffee and doughnuts.

The company only began selling all-day breakfast a few years ago but now offers rice, chicken and veggie bowls, and has dabbled with burgers and pizza.

It recently introduced Twists, a buttery, flaky pastry that comes in four-cheese and everything flavours, and Dream cookies, which are premium treats stuffed or topped with ingredients like pecans, marshmallows, Reese’s and M&M’s.

“They have been a big hit with our (customers),” said Schwan.

“We have been serving millions of these cookies every month since June, when we actually launched them.”

Tim Hortons said its comparable store sales, a key retail metric that measures sales at stores open more than a year, rose 6.8 per cent in the third quarter compared with 9.8 per cent a year prior.

But becoming a heavyweight in the later-day portion of the quick-serve market comes with challenges. Rivals such as McDonald’s and Wendy’s have gained huge portions of dinner and afternoon snack sales and that time of day also has competition from sit-down restaurants, not to mention people eating at home.

At the same time, several