McDonald's profit report

McDonald's announced that its sales are continuing to struggle as efforts by its new chief executive to win back customers in the U.S. haven't paid off yet.

The Oak Brook, Ill.-based burger giant is off to a rough start this year, reporting on Wednesday that same-store sales fell 2.6% in the U.S. division in the first quarter, including a 3.9% decline in March–worse than analysts expected. Profit for the period also fell by a steeper-than-expected 32%, in part because of exchange-rate changes.

Customer traffic declined in all of McDonald's major markets, adding to two years of struggles at the world's largest fast-food chain, which is battling changing consumer tastes in America and food-safety issues in Asia. The company said it expects to report a continued decline in same-store sales for April and has decided to close an additional 220 under-performing restaurants, primarily in the U.S. and China. (portfolio.hu)