Illinois, USA — MCDONALD’S said that a key revenue figure rose 1.9 per cent in August, driven by a strong performance in Europe. Its Monopoly promotion in the United States helped lift its performance there.
The world’s biggest hamburger chain reported the gain in revenue at restaurants open at least 13 months for the period ended August 31. That includes a 3.3 per cent increase in Europe, a 0.2 per cent rise in the US and a 0.5 per cent decline in Asia Pacific.This figure is a key gauge of a restaurant operator’s health because it excludes results from restaurants recently opened or closed.The monthly sales figure is a snapshot of the money spent on food at company-owned and franchised locations and does not reflect corporate revenue.While the metric improved for McDonald’s in August, it was slower growth than the 3.7 per cent increase in the prior-year period. But it was faster growth than the 0.7 per cent increase in July.The company, based in Oak Brook, Illinois, is trying to navigate a variety of challenges and has already said it expects the rest of this year to be challenging. To start, McDonald’s is facing intensifying competition from long-time rivals Burger King and Wendy’s, which have been revamping their menus and stepping up marketing.In addition, McDonald’s is trying to keep up with changing tastes by offering items people feel are fresher or healthier, such as its new chicken wraps and egg white breakfast sandwiches. But the chain has also been aggressively promoting its Dollar Menu and other deals at a time when it says people are being more careful about spending.And it said it has begun offering steak as an option for all breakfast sandwiches yesterday, including the McMuffin and biscuit or bagel breakfast sandwiches. The “steak on any” option has been rolling out to 9,600 McDonald’s restaurants in August and September.Analysts have expressed concern that the latter strategy could eat into profit margins. But last week, the chain said it was exploring a revamped Dollar Menu that includes items costing as much as US$5 that could go national this year.McDonald’s, which has more than 34,000 locations globally, is also trying to remind people of long-time favourites and has been featuring its Big Mac in TV and online ads. It also recently expanded its line-up of Quarter Pounders, saying it wanted to capitalise on the popularity of the burger.The 3.3 per cent increase in Europe of revenue at restaurants open at least 13 months was led by the UK, France and Russia. McDonald’s said that the UK responded well to new blended-ice drinks. The chain anticipates trying to build demand through limited-time offerings.In the US, the metric edged up 0.2 per cent, down significantly from the three per cent rise a year ago. McDonald’s said it plans on strengthening its US presentation with new products across its various menus and at different price points.The metric fell 0.5 per cent for the Asia Pacific region, Middle East and Africa on softness in Japan, China and Australia. The Oak Brook, Illinois, company said that it faced a tough prior-year comparison, when the figure climbed 5.7 per cent.McDonald’s shares rose 83 cents to US$97.28 in pre-market trading yesterday about a half-hour ahead of the market opening.View the original article here
McDonald"s key revenue metric rises in August
