McDonald's to develop new turnaround plan as sales fall again

Shares of the world's biggest restaurant chain by sales rose 2.5 percent to $97.25 in premarket trading on Wednesday.

In its first quarterly results under new Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook, McDonald's global comparable sales at restaurants open at least 13 months fell 2.3 percent in the first quarter ended March 31.

Easterbrook will share initial details of the turnaround plan on May 4, the company said in a statement.

McDonald's is fighting to recover from food scandals in China and Japan and is facing tough competition at home in the United States from more nimble chains ranging from Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc to Burger King .

In the United States, McDonald's promotions failed to attract customers. U.S. comparable sales fell 2.6 percent in the quarter.

Analysts on average had estimated a 1.8 percent fall in the company's global same-store sales and a 2.1 percent fall in the United States, according to analysts polled by research firm Consensus Metrix.

April global comparable sales are expected to be negative, McDonald's said.

Net income fell 32.6 percent to $811.5 million, or 84 cents per share. Excluding items, McDonald's earned $1.01 per share.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of $1.06 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue fell 11 percent to $5.96 billion, but were largely in line with analysts' average expectation.

(Reporting by Shailaja Sharma in Bengaluru and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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