McDonald’s February sales fall as burger chain suffers “negative results” in Australia

JEFF WHALLEY
MARCH 11, 2014
HERALD SUN
MCDONALD’S says global sales fell in February and the burger chain recorded “negative results” in Australia.
Chief executive Don Thompson pledged to improve sales as he acknowledged the performance would hurt the group’s results in the first quarter.
Worldwide sales fell 0.3 per cent.
In the group’s region covering the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa sales were down 2.6 per cent. That region includes McDonald’s Australia.
The sharp drop was blamed on weakness in Japan, a shift in timing of Chinese New Year and “negative results in Australia”.
Mr Thompson said the fast-food chain would concentrate on “customer-focused initiatives” including boosting menu variety, increased convenience and affordability.
Sales fell 1.4 per cent in the US and 0.6 per cent in Europe.