Sales in the company's Asia Pacific, Africa and Middle East region climbed 5.7% last month, Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonalds said. Analysts had projected a gain of about four percent.
McDonalds comparable-store sales increased three percent in the U.S. and 3.1% in Europe. Analysts had estimated gains of 3.1% and about 3.3%, respectively, according to a survey by Consensus Metrix, which is owned by Wayne, New Jersey-based Kaul Advisory Group.
Chief Executive Officer Don Thompson has tried to lure diners with value lunches and dinners ($1-2) in China amid a slowing economy and more competition from local brands. McDonald's, which gets about 22% of its revenue from the Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East unit, plans to open as many as 250 stores in
China this year.
"They're working on more value right now everywhere in the world, including China," Larry Miller, an Atlanta-based analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in an interview. "It's just kind of the environment we're in."
