McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) released same-store sales results for January on Monday morning and, following a pattern we have seen at many retailers, blamed the weather for a sharp decline in U.S. sales. Same-store sales fell 3.3% in the United States, but gains in Europe and Asia offset the dip and allowed the company to post global growth of 1.2% in January.
U.S. same-store sales fell 1.4% in the fourth quarter of 2013 and 2.4% in Asia. European sales rose 1% in the fourth quarter. For the month of January, European sales rose 2% and Asia/Pacific/Middle East/Africa (APMEA) sales rose 5.4%.
Citing “broad-based challenges including severe winter weather,” McDonald’s said it is focused on regaining positive momentum in the United States with “customer engagement, menu choice and operations excellence initiatives.” Same-store sales in the United States rose 0.9% in January 2013.
In Europe sales gains in France and the United Kingdom were partially offset by negative results in Germany. January marked a significant turnaround in European sales, however, compared with a same-store sales drop of 2.1% in January of 2013.
The turnaround in APMEA was even larger, up from a 9.5% sales drop in January 2013. The company said the sales jump was driven by results in China. The timing of Chinese New Year and a recovery in sales lost due to concerns about China’s chicken supply get the credit for the sales gain in China.
Sales in all stores rose 0.6% (3.9% on a constant currency basis) in January.
McDonald’s stock was up about 0.3% in premarket trading Monday, at $96.19 in a 52-week range of $92.22 to $103.70.
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