LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Even though Yum Brands Inc. reported that its third-quarter profit rose 18 percent, the restaurant operator's stock slipped Wednesday after it said U.S. sales are causing it heartburn as consumers keep cooking at home to save money.

The shares fell 1.7 percent, or 58 cents, in midday trading Wednesday to $34.28.

The owner of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut said Wednesday that an overall 6 percent drop in sales at its U.S. restaurants that have been open at least a year could be followed by even weaker sales in the final three months of 2009.

"We now expect the fourth quarter to be the low point of the year for our U.S. business," Yum Chief Financial Officer Rick Carucci said in a conference call with industry analysts.

Despite the sales slump, Yum turned a strong operating profit in its U.S. business, thanks in part to lower commodity expenses and other cost cutting.

Its overall third-quarter profit rose largely on the strength of its business in China and its fast pace of restaurant openings outside the United States.

Yum's quarterly operating profit in China shot up 32 percent to $217 million in part because of a $21 million benefit from falling commodity prices. The company opened 88 restaurants in mainland China during the third quarter and now operates nearly 3,300 restaurants there.

In the U.S., the biggest drag on profit was Pizza Hut, which posted a 13 percent drop in sales at stores open more than a year.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.