The operator of hundreds of KFC restaurants plans to offer 1000 new jobs to Australia's youth as it focuses on growing its local business after delivering record annual sales.
Collins Foods, which is exiting its legacy Taco Bell business, also wants to extend its trading hours after noticing many customers want a fried chicken fix late at night.
The jobs drive comes after the Fair Work Commission announced earlier this year it would phase out junior pay rates for 18- to 20-year-olds across the fast food, retail and pharmacy industries.
Asked how Collins Food would manage the higher wage bill, chief executive Xavier Simonet said the impact for the group's fiscal 2027 year would be relatively modest at around $1 million.
But once the change is fully implemented, by fiscal 2031, the bill will be about $20 million.
The company would work to drive labour productivity, "particularly through the automation of the back of house", Mr Simonet told a results briefing on Tuesday.
"It doesn't just affect KFC, it clearly affects anyone who hires young people, and we have strong plans in place to mitigate that, both through the revenue line and the cost line."
Collins Foods, which operates KFC restaurants in Australia, Germany and the Netherlands, booked record revenue in fiscal 2026, despite cost-of-living pressures, as new products such as the Zinger Banh Mi attracted more customers.
Sales revenue hit a record $1.6 billion for the year ended May 3, up 8.6 per cent, leading to a bottom-line net profit of $44.2 million, up from $8.8 million previously.
After excluding a one-off $7.3 million class-action settlement over 10-minute rest breaks, the result came to $47.1 million - a gain of 280.5 per cent.
"We are extremely pleased with the results delivered," Mr Simonet said.
The group also recorded a big jump in online orders, with that segment accounting for 43.2 per cent of total Australian fiscal 2026 sales of $1.2 billion.
Of its 384 KFC restaurants, 296 are in Australia.
Collins Food had Taco Bell restaurants in Australia but is transferring 20 to a joint venture and has closed the remaining seven, resulting in a $400,000 segment loss.
The offloading will be completed by the end of August.
As it swings to expand its Australian business, the group's national manager, Krystal Zugno, told investors it would create more than 1000 new jobs for Australian youth.
At the same time, it wants to increase sales in the late-night time slots, where it has already experienced a strong pick-up between 8pm and 10pm.
Collins Food has been testing extending trading to midnight in some parts of Australia before a staggered national rollout.
"We are very early in the rollout phase," Ms Zugno said.
"We're seeing improvement in our 8pm to 10pm window, so we're excited to see what that will look like."
Collins Foods is also ramping up its beverage and dessert offering, Kwench by KFC, after trialling the products in Cairns.
"We are well progressed in preparing the national roll out of Kwench by KFC, and most restaurants will be selling Kwench by the end of financial year 2027," Ms Zugno said.
In the first eight weeks of its fiscal 2027 year, sales continued to rise on the back of a 6.7 per cent gain for KFC Australia.
However, sales dipped in Europe because of the ongoing summer heatwave.
Collins Food shares were down 2.2 per cent in early afternoon trading to $8.18.
Investors will receive a final dividend of 15 cents, taking the total for the year to 28 cents.
