(Yicai) Nov. 2 -- Shares of Yum China Holdings plunged after the chief financing officer of the operator of Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut restaurant in China warned investors about weaker earnings results in the fourth quarter of the year.

Yum China [HKG: 9987] was trading down 3.9 percent at HKD342.40 (USD43.77) as of lunch break in Hong Kong today, after earlier plunging as much as 8 percent. The firm’s New York-listed stock [NYSE: NUMC] closed 15.2 percent down at USD44.56 yesterday, the lowest since September 2018.

“Looking ahead, the fourth quarter is a seasonally small quarter in terms of sales and profits; hence small fluctuations in sales could have a more pronounced impact on our margins,” Andy Yeung said in a press release for Yum China’s third-quarter earnings report yesterday China time. “It is important to highlight that during the fourth quarter last year, we received temporary relief of $26 million, which is not expected to repeat this year.”

Yum China’s net profit rose 18 percent to USD244 million in the three months ended Sept. 30 from a year earlier, the Shanghai-based company noted. Revenue increased 9 percent to USD2.9 billion in the period.

Operating profit edged up 2 percent to USD323 million in the third quarter from the same period last year, with adjusted operating profit up 3 percent to USD327 million. Yum China’s net store opening jumped 14 percent to 500.

Yum China refreshed records in revenue, adjusted operating profit, and net new store openings in the third quarter, Chief Executive Officer Joey Wat pointed out.

Editor: Futura Costaglione