Yum's China sales drop less than expected in 1Q

The owner of KFC and Taco Bell had forecast a 25-percent decline for the two months for sales at restaurants open at least a year. It also warned at the time that its overall profit for 2013 would drop as a result of the controversy, snapping an 11-year streak of double-digit profit growth.

With 5,300 restaurants in the country, Louisville, Ky.-based Yum is the biggest Western fast-food operator in China. KFC accounts for most the locations.

Yum's sales figure ticked up 2 percent in February, helped by the timing of Chinese New Year. The holiday's timing hurt January's sales, however, ultimately having a neutral impact on results for the two months.

January and February make up Yum's first quarter in China.

The company has been reeling from a December TV report in China that said its suppliers were giving chickens unapproved levels of antibiotics. But Yum has since launched a campaign to rebuild its brand, announcing that it eliminated more than 1,000 small producers from its supplier network and that it would strengthen oversight over farmers.