McDonald's April same-store sales rise

NEW YORK -- Sales of new espresso-based coffee drinks and chicken Snack Wraps helped boost McDonald's Corp.'s same-store sales by 6.9 percent in April, the nation's largest hamburger chain said Friday.

Same-store sales, or sales in stores open at least 13 months at the chain, climbed 6.1 percent in the U.S. The rise comes even as, or perhaps because of, a recession that has kept consumers from spending on meals out.

McDonald's has largely benefited from consumers' desire to save cash since its meals are typically less expensive than those at sit-down chains. Most restaurant companies other than fast food businesses have seen sharp declines in same-store sales in the past few months as consumers have cut back.

Besides its low prices, the company credited its new line of espresso-based coffee drinks called McCafe for its strong U.S. performance during the month. McDonald's is rolling the drinks out to all of its 14,000 locations nationwide. This week, it began promoting the drinks in TV, radio, print, online and outdoor ads — part of a more than $100 million marketing campaign to introduce the line to U.S. consumers.

Stifel Nicolaus analyst Steve West said in a note to investors that the surge in U.S. same-store sales continues to "prove the 'recession-resistant' mantra is still valid."

"We continue to have a strong positive outlook for continued momentum and industry-leading fundamentals," he said.

The April sales results come after the company reported earlier this month that profit for the first three months of the year climbed nearly 4 percent. Same-store sales in the first quarter rose 4.3 percent globally.

Outside the U.S., same-store sales for April rose 8.4 percent in Europe and 6.5 percent in Asia/Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.

The company said its U.K., Australia and Japan markets were particularly strong. China, however, partly offset some of the gains, the company said. China has begun to be hit by the global recession, with factories closing in parts of the country.

Systemwide — a measure that includes franchisees — sales fell 1 percent during the month, hurt by the stronger dollar in overseas markets, particularly Europe, where sales fell 11.1 percent.

U.S. companies that do business overseas typically report their revenues in dollars. When the dollar is stronger than the foreign currency, that can lead to a lower revenue number.

U.S. total sales during the month rose 7 percent.

Year-to-date, same-store sales rose 5 percent while systemwide sales fell 1.7 percent.

Shares rose $1.46 to $54.85 in afternoon trading after climbing about 4 percent earlier in the day.