CHICAGO — McDonald’s Corp. posted a 56 percent increase in first-quarter earnings Tuesday, extending an impressive yearlong comeback for a company that was jolted last week by the sudden death of its CEO.
Chief executive Jim Cantalupo, who died of a heart attack while in Florida for a McDonald’s convention, was replaced by the fast-food chain’s 43-year-old president and chief operating officer, Charlie Bell.
Bell paid tribute to Cantalupo in a news release accompanying McDonald’s quarterly earnings report as "an incredibly inspiring and passionate leader" and said he is committed to strengthening McDonald’s and "continuing the momentum that began under Jim’s leadership."
Net income for the first three months of the year was $511.5 million, or 40 cents a share, compared with $327.4 million, or 26 cents a share, for the same period a year ago. That matched the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call.
Revenue was $4.4 billion, up 16 percent from $3.8 billion a year earlier.
After suffering from weak results for the previous two years, McDonald’s has bounced back to report higher comparative sales from its U.S. restaurants in each of the last 12 months. Sales have risen sharply with help from new products, such as salads and McGriddles breakfast sandwiches, later hours and a Cantalupo-led focus on food and service quality over expansion and capital spending.
The leading burger chain also has profited from a slump at No. 2 Burger King and a rebound in the restaurant industry as a whole. Now it is embarking on a marketing blitz to promote new, more diet-conscious offerings, such as fresh-fruit Happy Meal options for kids and adult Happy Meals with salad, bottled water and a pedometer.
Even before Cantalupo’s April 12 death, however, McDonald’s sizzling comeback was expected to cool off starting as soon as next month as results suffer from comparison with last year’s exceptionally strong numbers.
McDonald’s shares fell 12 cents to close at $27.20 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange before the earnings report was released. The stock rose 20 cents in after-hours trading.
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