McDonald's Holdings Co. Japan on Friday announced a sharp downward revision of its earning forecast for the six months ending in June, dragged down by a steeper-than-expected drop in average sales per customer.
CEO Eiko Harada said McDonald's will stick to its so-called value strategy, a discount introduced in April that has brought back customers to the fast-food chain.
"In the consumer business, the right strategy is to increase the number of customer visits, even if it means a fall in average sales per customer, and then aim to lift total sales," he told a news conference.
The company said it now expects a net profit of 237 million yen for the six-month period, down from 1.86 billion yen as originally forecast.
Sales are projected to be 157.12 billion, yen down from the initial estimate of 159.1 billion, yen as average sales per customer are expected to fall 7.4 percent.