McDonald’s April sales rise but miss expectations

Oak Brook-based McDonald’s Corp. says a key revenue figure rose in April as strength in the U.S. and U.K. helped offset weakness in Japan. But results missed analyst expectations and McDonald’s shares fell 2 percent in premarket trading.

The world’s largest hamburger chain says global sales rose 3.3 percent at stores open at least 13 months. But Thomson Reuters says analysts expected a 4.1 percent rise.

The figure is key metric because it excludes the impact of newly opened stores.

The figure rose 3.3 percent in the U.S., driven by its new extra value menu offerings such as 20-piece Chicken McNuggets.

The sales figure rose 3.5 percent in Europe and 1.1 percent in Asia/Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. McDonald’s says positive results in China were offset by negative results in Japan.