A drop in sales revenue has been reported by Collins Foods Limited, which is the franchisee for the KFC brand in Queensland, and operates the Sizzler business in Australia.

For the first half of the financial year 2012, ending 16 October, Collins Foods was down 1.2 percent compared to the previous first half year, with sales at $186.9 million.

The company has also announced an expected pro forma net profit after tax to be about $8 million, with a loss of approximately $500,000.

Collins Foods’ CEO Kevin Perkins cited fragile consumer confidence and a highly competitive environment as the causes of reduced customer frequency for both the Sizzler and KFC businesess.

KFC had flat same store sales while Sizzler’s same store sales dropped four percent.

Despite the slow trading figures, restaurant refurbishment and restaurant development programs are continuing.

Perkins said in a statement, We also continue to focus on cost controls and operational excellence to ensure that we maximise benefit when trading conditions and consumer confidence improve.

The Brisbane-based Collins Foods is the largest KFC franchisee in Australia by outlets, with 119 stores. The business operates 26 Sizzler restaurants in Queensland, Western Australia and New South Wales, owns the Sizzler trademarks in Australia and more than 68 other countries, and is the franchisor of 59 Sizzler restaurants in Asia.