Sales up despite problems in China

However, Starbucks ' business suffered not only from lost sales due to covid lockdowns in China, where like-for-like sales plunged 44 percent. The strong dollar, which reduces foreign revenues after translation into U.S. currency, also weighed on the quarterly balance sheet. In addition, Starbucks said it had significantly higher costs and expenses. The bottom line was that the company earned $912.9 million in the third fiscal quarter (to the end of June), a good 20 percent less than in the corresponding period last year. Nevertheless, the profit exceeded Wall Street's expectations. The share initially reacted after trading hours with a price increase of 1.3 percent. Most recently, it was announced that Starbucks is looking for a Buyer for the UK business is looking for. Accordingly, the group is examining a possible sale of its British branch in view of rising costs and increasing competition from other coffee house brands. Of the approximately 1,000 Starbucks units, the brand itself operates around 300, while the remaining 700 stores are run by franchisees.