McDonald's 4Q Profit Doubles

Pedestrians walk by the McDonald's restaurant in Torino, Italy on a rainy Saturday, Feb. 25, 2006. McDonald's fourth quarter profits more that doubled, thanks in part to a spin-off burrito chain and strong sales in Europe. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta) (Amy Sancetta - AP)

CHICAGO -- The spinoff of a burrito chain coupled with record-setting overseas sales helped McDonald's Corp. more than double its fourth-quarter profit, executives said Tuesday.

McDonald's, the world's largest fast-food company, said it will continue its push into countries such as China, Japan and Russia when it opens 800 new restaurants this year.

The expansion will net the chain a total of 400 new sites, after being offset by closures _ an 11 percent increase from the number of new restaurants opened last year.

"Our better, not just bigger, focus has transformed our business and built momentum," said Matthew Paull, McDonald's chief financial officer.

Executives at the Oak Brook, Ill.-based company said they also hope to continue the success of their popular chicken menu, launching chicken strips and snack wraps in the U.K. during the first quarter. The company also will continue its popular premium-roast coffee and is eyeing other specialty coffee drinks, premium hamburgers and breakfast burritos.

During the quarter ended Dec. 31, McDonald's earned $1.2 billion, or $1 a share. That was up from $608.5 million, or 48 cents a share, in the same period last year.

McDonald's revenue climbed 11 percent to $5.6 billion, from $5.01 billion during the year-ago period.

The earnings were in line with preliminary results released last week but the stock dipped from the seven-year high it posted this month after some analysts said operating profit fell short of their expectations.

Even without the gain from the spinoff of its Chipotle chain, McDonald's said income from continuing operations climbed to $761.2 million, or 61 cents a share, a 26 percent increase from $604.8 million last year.

The company said the spinoff added 39 cents per share to its results.

On average, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast quarterly income of 61 cents per share and revenue of $5.7 billion. Those estimates typically exclude one-time items.

For the year, McDonald's said it earned $3.5 billion, or $2.83 per share, a 36 percent increase from last year. For 2006, the company had $21.6 billion in revenue.