Yum China Holdings (YUMC) will will reinstate its quarterly dividend with a 12 cent per share payment in December. This April the restaurant company suspended its quarterly dividend for two quarters because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fastfood chain last hiked its quarterly dividend by twenty percent to of $0.12 per share in the fourth quarter of 2018.

The next dividend is payable as of the close of business on December 16, 2020 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on November 25, 2020. An annualized dividend rate of 48 cents per share yields 0.9% at a stock price of $53.

In its press release reporting 3rd quarter 2020 results Yum China's CFO Andy Yeung explained the dividend reinstatement: "Looking ahead, we now expect to open more than 900 gross new stores in 2020. We remain cautiously optimistic and continue to expect the recovery to be non-linear and uneven. Although the COVID-19 outbreak in China has improved over the past months, we are not out of the woods yet. The lingering effect remains unpredictable. However, given our strong liquidity position, we will resume our quarterly cash dividend in the fourth quarter. We remain committed to driving sustainable growth and creating long-term value to our shareholders." 

Yum China Holdings, Inc. is a licensee of Yum! Brands in mainland China. It has exclusive rights in mainland China to KFC, China's leading quick-service restaurant brand, Pizza Hut, the leading casual dining restaurant brand in China, and Taco Bell, which opened its first restaurant in China at the end of 2016. Yum China also owns the Little Sheep and East Dawning concepts outright. Yum China became a public company on October 17, 2016 when it was spun off from YUM! Brands. In 2020 the dividend was suspended for two quarters because of COVID-19 and reinstated in the fourth quarter of that year.