Latest news with #Wat
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Is Ruben Amorim the right fit for Manchester United?
Is Ruben Amorim the right fit for Manchester United? | The Cooligans Yahoo Sports contributors Christian Polanco and Alexis Guerreros reflect on Manchester United's season with manager and head coach Ruben Amorim at the helm and debate whether or not he is the right fit for the job. Hear the full conversation on the 'The Cooligans' podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen. View more Video Transcript Has Ruben Aham done a good enough job to keep his job. Advertisement He's proven to me that he has the goods to be able to turn a team around, and sometimes when you don't have the time to do it, you'll never see it come to fruition. And I think this is a good example of steady. Let this man get another season. If he has another season like this or another even half season like this, I completely understand, but he deserves a transfer window, he deserves to bring in his own players, and he deserves at least a little bit more grace. I don't think it is his fault when he got there, and we were all, he is charming. He is making, he's saying the right things. He's young, he's he's better than like 10 Hog, right? Advertisement He's not, he's not. Uh, um, uh, putting blame on other people. He's just like a, he's a chill guy and he, he was what they needed to not just right the ship like on the pitch with the media and dealing with all that stuff because it was just a lot of bad publicity. So I don't necessarily think it is his fault. Ruben Aer has won 6 games in 6 months. That's not bad. 1 a month. I mean, how many do they play each month? Like quite a few, usually 4 to 6. So good. So that isn't good enough. So I understand it may not be entirely his fault because we know of all the institutional problems with Manchester United, and that's the point. Advertisement I think it's first. Well, I, I don't understand why he, why he even took the job, and I get the, the glory of Manchester United to be the one that writes that ship, you can essentially become thought of as like the next Sir Alex Ferguson. There's a certain amount of ego that goes into wanting to be a manager and wanting to be a manager of a club like Manchester United, regardless of when that call comes, you're probably gonna take it. But at the same time, you had to look at this and go, I don't. I don't think I wanna spend my vacation on a, on a cruise boat that's on fire, you know what I mean? Like I said, on the, on the live stream when we were doing Wat song, I said that Manchester United feels like a, a house with mold all over it that you just paint over and you're just like, oh, the it looks, it looks great from the outside, you know, the point that this club is in and the So the opportunity that for for both Tottenham and Manchester United, it was the opportunity for people to ignore the season you just had.
Listly
25-05-2025
- Listly
Finding Hua Hin: Where Beach Days and Cultural Escapes Collide
Beyond the beach, Hua Hin holds a deep sense of culture that's hard to ignore. Take a short trip inland to visit the towering statue of Luang Phor Thuad at Wat Huay Mongkol. It's peaceful, spiritual, and lush with greenery—a lovely contrast to the busy town. Then go to the Hua Hin Railway Station. With its retro Thai architecture and rich history, it's not only a train stop—it's a glimpse into Thailand's royal past. For a dose of creativity, end your day at Cicada Market. It's part art gallery, part performance space, and worth a visit.
The Star
11-05-2025
- The Star
Foreign tourists captivated by Thai culture on Wesak Day
BANGKOK: Foreign tourists in Thailand joined locals on Sunday (May 11) to observe Visakha Bucha Day (Wesak Day), honouring the birth, enlightenment, and Parinirvana (passing) of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism. Many were seen exploring temples, where most religious and community activities are being held throughout the day, to mark the occasion. Hsu, 33, a Taiwanese tourist on holiday in Bangkok, said she followed her tour guide's advice to visit temples in the city. She expressed her excitement after visiting the famed Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen, a temple located near the Chao Phraya River. "In my opinion, Thais have a deep passion and enthusiasm for Buddhist activities. I feel that this country is more engaged in Buddhism than Taiwan. I saw many antique Buddhist amulets in the temple,' she said when met at Wat Paknam. Hsu, from Taipei, who is visiting Thailand for the first time, said she was astonished to experience the special occasion, where she could hear monks and devotees chanting throughout the temple. There are over 40,000 wats (Buddhist temples) across the country, while saffron-clad monks are a common sight during this period. Another tourist, Mohammed Rafiq, 25, from Iraq, said he and his wife decided to visit temples in Thailand based on recommendations from locals. He expressed amazement at the intricate architecture and grand designs of the temples and the Buddha statues. "This is our first time visiting Thailand, and it's an eye-opener for us to witness so many Buddhist devotees chanting and making merit at local temples,' he said. Despite the hot and humid weather in Thailand, Rafiq said he and his wife planned to visit several more temples in Bangkok to admire the intricate craftsmanship and architecture. Among Bangkok's most visited temples during Wesak Day this year are Wat Paknam, Wat Saket, Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Arun, Wat Pho, and Wat That Thong. Wesak Day is one of the major national celebrations in Thailand, observed solemnly by Buddhists by visiting temples for prayers and performing acts of merit. - Bernama
Associated Press
30-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Yum China Reports First Quarter Results
Same-Store Sales Advanced to 100% of Prior-Year Levels for the First Time Since the First Quarter of 2024 9th Consecutive Quarter of Same-Store Transaction Growth OP Margin Increased 80 Basis Points to 13.4% and Restaurant Margin Expanded 100 Basis Points Operating Profit Up 7%; Diluted EPS Up 8%, or 12% Excluding F/X and Mark-to-market Impact SHANGHAI, April 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Yum China Holdings, Inc. (the 'Company' or 'Yum China') (NYSE: YUMC and HKEX: 9987) today reported unaudited results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025. First Quarter Highlights CEO Comments Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China, commented, 'We achieved a solid first-quarter performance amid an uncertain market environment. These results underscore the resilience of our business and the success of our dual-focus strategy, emphasizing innovation and operational efficiency. KFC continued to show resilience, delivering solid growth and profitability through both good times and bad. Pizza Hut continued its positive momentum after reaching what we believe was an inflection point. Our innovations touch every aspect of the business. KFC launched the spicy flavor of Original Recipe Chicken for the first time since we entered China in 1987. Pizza Hut added fresh twists to its classic Super Supreme flavor, offering it on burgers and pasta in addition to pizzas.' Wat continued, 'Our breakthrough model, KCOFFEE Cafe, reached the milestone of 1,000 locations. This business model leverages KFC's store space, resources and membership to attract additional traffic. For Pizza Hut, building on the success of WOW store conversions, we have opened brand new WOW stores in lower tier cities, where capex can be as low as half of a regular Pizza Hut store. Our teams are also continuously exploring ways to create more operational efficiency through innovative technologies, such as robotics and Generative AI. In the current evolving market environment, we remain steadfast in achieving our full year targets, including 1,600-1,800 net new stores, while creating sustainable, long-term value for our shareholders.' Capital Returns to Shareholders Outlook Note on Non-GAAP Measures Reported GAAP results include items that are excluded from non-GAAP measures. See 'Reconciliation of Reported GAAP Results to Non-GAAP Measures' and 'Segment Results' within this release for non-GAAP reconciliation details. Conference Call Yum China's management will hold an earnings conference call at 7:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 (7:00 p.m. Beijing/Hong Kong Time on Wednesday, April 30, 2025). A live webcast of the call may be accessed at To join by phone, please register in advance of the conference through the link provided below. Upon registering, you will be provided with participant dial-in numbers and a unique access PIN. Pre-registration Link: A replay of the webcast will be available two hours after the event and will remain accessible until April 29, 2026. Additionally, earnings release accompanying slides will be available at the Company's Investor Relations website For important news and information regarding Yum China, including our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, visit Yum China's Investor Relations website at Yum China uses this website as a primary channel for disclosing key information to its investors, some of which may contain material and previously non-public information. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including under 'Outlook.' We intend all forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and by the use of forward-looking words such as 'expect,' 'expectation,' 'believe,' 'anticipate,' 'may,' 'could,' 'intend,' 'belief,' 'plan,' 'estimate,' 'target,' 'predict,' 'project,' 'likely,' 'will,' 'continue,' 'should,' 'forecast,' 'outlook,' 'commit' or similar terminology. These statements are based on current estimates and assumptions made by us in light of our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that we believe are appropriate and reasonable under the circumstances, but there can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the future strategies, growth, business plans, investments, store openings, franchise mix of net new stores, capital expenditures, dividend and share repurchase plans, CAGR for system sales, operating profit and EPS, earnings, performance and returns of Yum China, anticipated effects of population and macroeconomic trends, pace of recovery of Yum China's business, the anticipated effects of our innovation, digital and delivery capabilities and investments on growth and beliefs regarding the long-term drivers of Yum China's business. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and could cause our actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by those statements. We cannot assure you that any of our expectations, estimates or assumptions will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are only made as of the date of this press release, and we disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law. Numerous factors could cause our actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: whether we are able to achieve development goals at the times and in the amounts currently anticipated, if at all, the success of our marketing campaigns and product innovation, our ability to maintain food safety and quality control systems, changes in public health conditions, our ability to control costs and expenses, including tax costs, changes in political, economic and regulatory conditions in China, as well as changes in political, business, economic and trade relations between the U.S. and China, and those set forth under the caption 'Risk Factors' in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Our plan of capital returns to shareholders is based on current expectations, which may change based on market conditions, capital needs or otherwise. In addition, other risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial could affect the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. You should consult our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (including the information set forth under the caption 'Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations' in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q) for additional detail about factors that could affect our financial and other results. About Yum China Holdings, Inc. Yum China is the largest restaurant company in China with a mission to make every life taste beautiful. The Company operates over 16,000 restaurants under six brands across over 2,300 cities in China. KFC and Pizza Hut are the leading brands in the quick-service and casual dining restaurant spaces in China, respectively. In addition, Yum China has partnered with Lavazza to develop the Lavazza coffee concept in China. Little Sheep and Huang Ji Huang specialize in Chinese cuisine. Taco Bell offers innovative Mexican-inspired food. Yum China has a world-class, digitalized supply chain, which includes an extensive network of logistics centers nationwide and an in-house supply chain management system. Its strong digital capabilities and loyalty program enable the Company to reach customers faster and serve them better. Yum China is a Fortune 500 company with the vision to be the world's most innovative pioneer in the restaurant industry. For more information, please visit Contacts In this press release: Reconciliation of Reported GAAP Results to Non-GAAP Measures (in millions, except per share data) (unaudited) In addition to the results provided in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ('GAAP') in this press release, the Company provides the following non-GAAP measures: These non-GAAP measures are not intended to replace the presentation of our financial results in accordance with GAAP. Rather, the Company believes that the presentation of these non-GAAP measures provides additional information to investors to facilitate the comparison of past and present results, excluding those items that the Company does not believe are indicative of our core operations. With respect to non-GAAP measures adjusted for Special Items, the Company excludes impact from Special Items for the purpose of evaluating performance internally and uses them as factors in determining compensation for certain employees. Special Items are not included in any of our segment results. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income including noncontrolling interests adjusted for equity in net earnings (losses) from equity method investments, income tax, interest income, net, investment gain or loss, depreciation and amortization, store impairment charges, and Special Items. Store impairment charges included as an adjustment item in Adjusted EBITDA primarily resulted from our semi-annual impairment evaluation of long-lived assets of individual restaurants, and additional impairment evaluation whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. If these restaurant-level assets were not impaired, depreciation of the assets would have been recorded and included in EBITDA. Therefore, store impairment charges were a non-cash item similar to depreciation and amortization of our long-lived assets of restaurants. The Company believes that investors and analysts may find it useful in measuring operating performance without regard to such non-cash items. Restaurant Profit is defined as Company sales less expenses incurred directly by our Company-owned restaurants in generating Company sales, including cost of food and paper, restaurant-level payroll and employee benefits, rent, depreciation and amortization of restaurant-level assets, advertising expenses, and other operating expenses. Company restaurant margin percentage is defined as Restaurant profit divided by Company sales. We also use Restaurant profit and Restaurant margin for the purposes of internally evaluating the performance of our Company-owned restaurants and we believe they provide useful information to investors as to the profitability of our Company-owned restaurants. Core Operating Profit is defined as Operating Profit adjusted for Special Items, and further excluding Items Affecting Comparability and the impact of F/X. We consider quantitative and qualitative factors in assessing whether to adjust for the impact of items that may be significant or that could affect an understanding of our ongoing financial and business performance or trends. Items such as charges, gains and accounting changes which are viewed by management as significantly impacting the current period or the comparable period, due to changes in policy or other external factors, or non-cash items pertaining to underlying activities that are different from or unrelated to our core operations, are generally considered 'Items Affecting Comparability.' Examples of Items Affecting Comparability include, but are not limited to: temporary relief from landlords and government agencies; VAT deductions due to tax policy changes; and amortization of reacquired franchise rights recognized upon acquisitions. We believe presenting Core Operating Profit provides additional information to further enhance comparability of our operating results and we use this measure for purposes of evaluating the performance of our core operations. Core OP margin is defined as Core Operating Profit divided by Total revenues, excluding the impact of F/X. The following tables set forth the reconciliation of the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures to the non-GAAP financial measures. The reconciliation of GAAP Operating Profit to Restaurant Profit and Core Operating Profit by segment is presented in Segment Results within this release. View original content: SOURCE Yum China Holdings, Inc.
Forbes
03-04-2025
- Forbes
Anantara Chiang Mai Welcomes Guests With A Touch Of History
Chaing Mai is a must-visit spot for travelers to Thailand. Founded in 1296, this ancient city boasts 117 temples, including the beloved Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. In addition to the numerous temples, the city has one of the country's largest night markets where you can purchase local snacks, those ubiquitous elephant pants and a host of handicrafts. Speaking of elephants, no trip to Chain Mai is complete without a visit to one of the area's elephant sanctuaries where visitors can feed, bathe and hug rescued elephants. The pool welcomes you When deciding on accommodations in Chian Mai, guests who want to embrace the area's history while enjoying a five-star experience should plan to stay at Anantara Chiang Mai. This boutique hotel is located on the banks of the Mae Ping River and provides the perfect backdrop for a relaxing afternoon after a morning of sightseeing. The large pool has river views and is ideal for watching life on the river float by. For an evening activity, guests can join the JAO Ping River Cruise, a fun, multi-course dinner cruise down the river. Traditional Thai outfits (jewelry included) are provided for guests who really want to get into the spirit of Chiang Mai. Musicians and Thai dancers are part of the night's entertainment. A glamorous evening cruise Another favorite dining option is the 1921 House, which was originally the British consulate and built over a century ago. This is the place to enjoy a formal afternoon tea or a dinner in the sophisticated steakhouse and grill. Wagyu steak, as well as British favorites such as Scotch eggs and sticky toffee pudding are also on the menu. And don't forget to ask your server to show the hidden door behind the bookcase which leads to a historical conference room. The Brit Bar is the place to go for a cocktail and music and a cozy club feel. If you want classic Thai cuisine, Bodhi Terrace has all of your favorites. Just outside the restaurant is another piece of history. The large Bodhi tree that sits on the outdoor patio is believed to have been on site for more than 400 years. Dine with a sense of history An ideal place to spend an afternoon is the Anantara Spa. Here, you can enjoy a range of Indigenous Lanna treatments such as the 'Yajoo' massage that utilizes a herbal poultice and plai oil to target pain and inflammation; the massage ends with a 'Tok Sen' rhythmic tapping session. If you have time, you can also sign up for the Sleep Retreat, a three-day program that includes traditional Thai massage, a peaceful sleep bath and cannabis tea, as well several mindfulness services. All suites have terraces with river views Guests will also love the Thai-inspired accommodations. All rooms are spacious and feature floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies that provide the perfect place to relax. For a splurge, consider the Kasara Pool Suite, a 1,500 square foot space that comes with its own pool, courtyard and outdoor cabana. Regardless of your choice of room, you can expect excellent service, extreme comfort and a nice sense of history.
