Still Lovin’ It: Cheaper Items, Expanded Menu Has Sales Up at McDonald’s

McDonald’s posted an increased sales number in May after sales had been down in April, in what analysts say is a positive reaction to an expanded value menu and new items, including salads and wraps.

According to the AP report:

The world’s biggest hamburger chain said Monday that global sales rose 2.6 percent at restaurants open at least a year, helped by an extra Friday in the month. In the U.S., the figure rose 2.4 percent, as the Dollar Menu and its new chicken wraps and egg white breakfast sandwiches lifted results.

In Europe, the figure rose 2 percent, as declines in Germany and France were offset by strong results in the United Kingdom and Russia.

The figure edged up 0.9 percent in the region encompassing Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The company, which as more than 34,000 restaurants around the world, noted that results in China were negative because of fears about avian flu.

McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson had been in the news recently, saying he’d lost 20 lbs., by taking on a more active lifestyle.