Yum's China restaurant sales drop less than expected

(Reuters) - Yum Brands Inc, owner of KFC and Pizza Hut, said on Tuesday that sales at established restaurants in its biggest market China fell less than expected for the first quarter as it works to recover from a food scandal involving a minor supplier.

Same-restaurant sales in China, Yum's No. 1 market for revenue and profit, declined 12 percent for the latest quarter on continued fallout from allegations that a former supplier used expired meat.

Analysts polled by Consensus Metrix had expected a drop of 14.4 percent.

Yum China's same-restaurant sales fell 16 percent for the fourth quarter and were down 14 percent in the third quarter. They were up 15 percent in the second quarter, which ended roughly a month before news of the supplier scandal broke on July 20.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles)