McDonald's reported its twelfth consecutive month of declining worldwide comparable sales, pressured by increased US competition and a weak global economy.
The company, which has been in the midst of a burger price war as it tries to win back customers, said it was also hurt in February by severe winter weather in parts of the United States, as well as bad weather and tough year-ago comparisons in Europe. In the United States, a President's Day blizzard shut down much of the East Coast.
The world's largest restaurant chain, which operates 30,000 hamburger outlets in more than 100 countries, said sales in February declined 4.7 per cent at restaurants open at least 13 months.
So-called same-store sales in the United States, McDonald's largest market, declined 4.4 per cent, while those in Europe fell 3.9 per cent, in constant currency terms.
Total system-wide sales for the month rose 4 per cent to $3.1 billion, boosted by favourable currency exchange rates. Without those rates, sales would have fallen by 1 per cent, the company said.