Breaking News

Dems scrambled to stop Manchin from breaking with Biden as WH aides 'freak the f--k out' after train wreck debate: reports
Business

McDonald’s quarterly profit tops $1B

By
Social Links for Post Staff Report
Published April 21, 2010, 1:17 p.m. ET

Driven by global demand, McDonald’s registered first-quarter profit growth of 11 percent, the fast-food giant said Wednesday.

Shares of the Dow Jones Industrial Average component traded slightly higher in pre-market action and stood on the verge of a new 52-week high.

Net income increased to $1.09 billion, or $1 a share, from $979.5 million, or 87 cents, earned in the year-earlier first quarter.

Total revenue, including receipts from franchised restaurants, rose 10 percent to $5.61 billion, the Oak Brook, Ill.-based company said. Excluding the impact from currency translations, quarterly sales would have risen four percent.

Analysts, on average, estimated McDonald’s would earn 96 cents a share on sales of $5.53 billion, according to estimates compiled by FactSet Research.

Global comparable sales, tracking those at outlets open at least 13 months, increased 4.2 percent, including growth rates of 1.5 percent in the U.S., 5.2 percent in Europe and 5.7 percent in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

In the U.S., operating profit rose 12 percent as consumers visited McDonald’s more often for its frappes and the entire McCafe line as well as the Breakfast Dollar Menu and Chicken McNuggets.

In Europe, France, Russia and the U.K. led the way for 23 percent quarterly profit growth.

The company’s Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa unit saw profit rising 27 percent, led by results in Australia and China.

“Our momentum continues with April’s global comparable sales trending at least as strong as first quarter sales,” said Chief Executive Jim Skinner in a statement. “For the first quarter, we delivered comparable sales and guest count growth in each geographic segment along with global double-digit operating income growth.”

McDonald’s has been among the few beneficiaries of the global recession as consumers “trade down” from higher-priced restaurant fare.

Management has overhauled its menu in recent years while extending hours and aggressively expanding into some fast-growing international markets. At the same time, commodity costs have eased, lessening margin pressures at a time of deep discounting in fast food.

There are roughly 32,000 McDonald’s outlets worldwide, with the company owning about 6,500 and the rest franchised.