Just before the launch of a new prospectus to raise fresh cash from farmers, Wool Partners International (WPI) has announced its involvement in a deal to reupholster the furnishings in about 8000 Starbucks stores outside of the United States.

WPI will supply the wool to be used in an innovative fabric blending with fibre from recycling coffee sacks, which was developed by Wellington company The Formary and called WoJo.

Chief executive Iain Abercrombie said the initiative was a further significant step towards delivering farmers the true value of the wool they produce.

A record year for KFC has helped Restaurant Brands increase its profit to almost $20 million in the year to February.

The company’s group net profit after tax for the year excluding non-trading items was $19.9 million, up 70% or $8.2 million compared to last year.

Group revenue was up $8.8 million (2.8%) to $318.3 million and same store sales were up 6.8%.

KFC was the standout performer for the group achieving a record year with sales of $223.2 million, up 9.2% on a same store basis.

Restaurant Brands is continuing to serve up strong sales at its KFC and rejuvenated Pizza Hut stores, with same store sales up 7.2% in the third quarter for the year.

The fast food group’s total sales for the 12 weeks ended December 7 were $72.9 million, up 4.7% on the same time last year.

That follows steady growth over the year with increases of 4.8% and 4.3% in the previous two quarters, while the total year-to-date sales are up 4.6% to $242.6 million.

Fast food giant Restaurant Brands is starting to see some returns from the slow turnaround of its Pizza Hut business, but coffee sales at its Starbucks stores have fallen over the past six months.

Overall, the company reported a net profit after tax for the half year excluding non-trading items of $9.2 million, up 89.4% on the previous year and above previous market guidance of $8.7 million.

Better-than-estimated results at Starbucks, Wells Fargo and Apple failed to send Wall Street benchmarks higher as lower oil prices hit energy shares and ended a six-day rally.

Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips retreated as crude fell for the first time in six days after a government report showed a smaller-than-forecast decline in inventories.

Wells Fargo fell 3% jdespite reporting a $US3.17 billion profit for the second quarter, up 81% from a year ago and easily surpassing analysts' forecasts.

Starbucks’ international results have bounced back into the black with a $US151 million quarterly profit, as the coffee company takes an unusual step away from its ubiquitous brand to help overcome consumer apathy.

While new outlets in Seattle are backing away slowly from the Starbucks name, the world’s largest coffee shop operator saw the better than expected result in the three months to June, after last year posting a loss of $6.7 million.