By Michael Dabaie

Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported first quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates.

The quick-service restaurant company, which owns the Tim Hortons, Burger King and Popeyes brands, reported first-quarter earnings per share of 58 cents, up from 48 cents in the year-ago period.

Adjusted EPS came to 55 cents, beating the FactSet consensus forecast for 51 cents.

Total revenue was $1.26 billion, up from $1.23 billion a year earlier. The FactSet consensus forecast was for $1.28 billion.

The year-over-year increase in total revenues on an as-reported basis was primarily driven by favorable foreign-exchange movements, the company said.

Comparable sales for Tim Hortons were down 2.3%, but were up 0.7% for Burger King and 1.5% for Popeyes.

Burger King had an increase in U.S. comparable sales of 6.6%, and U.S. comparable sales growth for Popeyes was 0.9%. For Tim Hortons, Canada comparable sales fell 3.3%.

"Our first-quarter results signal our return to growth with system-wide sales surpassing Q1 2019 and net restaurant growth nearly matching our best-ever Q1 performance in 2018," Chief Executive Jose Cil said.

Write to Michael Dabaie at michael.dabaie@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-30-21 0827ET