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Empresas y finanzas

Burger King profit down as sales slip


    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Burger King Holdings Inc reported a lower quarterly profit, hurt by declining restaurant sales worldwide and unfavorable foreign exchange rates, and the fast-food chain forecast its business would remain under pressure.

    Burger King, known as the home of the Whopper, had net income of $49 million, or 36 cents a share, for the fiscal fourth quarter ended June 30, down from $58.9 million, or 44 cents a share, a year earlier.

    Revenue slipped 1 percent to $623 million.

    Worldwide sales at restaurants open at least 13 months were down 0.7 percent, driven by a 1.5 percent drop in the United States and Canada.

    Burger King, which is more exposed to the job market's problems than rival McDonald's Corp because a larger share of its customers are young males, warned that worldwide comparable sales are expected to remain under pressure in its fiscal year 2011 because of lingering unemployment and government austerity programs in several European countries.

    (Reporting by Phil Wahba and Lisa Baertlein; editing by John Wallace)