TOKYO, Feb. 9, 2010 (Kyodo News International) -- McDonald's Holdings Co. (Japan) said Tuesday its group net profit in 2009 rose 3.4 percent from the previous year to 12.81 billion yen, the highest since its listing on the Jasdaq Securities Exchange in 2001.
While consolidated sales declined 10.8 percent to 362.31 billion yen, the hamburger restaurant chain boosted sales on a same-store basis for the sixth consecutive year.
But sales at all McDonald's restaurants (NYSE:MCD) in Japan, including franchise stores, grew 2.6 percent from a year earlier to a record high of 531.92 billion yen, up for the fourth straight year.
Its dividend payment for 2009 was left unchanged from 30 yen per share a year earlier.
In 2010, the company plans to shut down 433 unprofitable restaurants out of around 3,700 McDonald's stores in Japan. At the same time, it intends to open 90 new restaurants and refurbish 200 stores.
McDonald's Holdings is expecting group net profit this year to plunge 54.7 percent from 2009 to 5.8 billion yen due to special losses, including around 12 billion yen in store shutdown costs. Consolidated sales are projected to decline 13.6 percent to 313 billion yen.
