Record year for Macca's

We don't know how many burgers they made, but the other numbers are big enough.

McDonald's rang up record sales of $US27 billion ($25.6 billion) in 33,510 restaurants worldwide last year, an increase of 12 per cent, turning a profit of $US5.5 billion from the 68 million customers it serves each day.

Although there is no country breakdown, it seems Australia was a weak contributor, with our stronger dollar biting into earnings and its chief executive, Jim Skinner, noting ''lagging consumer confidence as a result of the economic slowdown''.

Just 34 new stores opened in Australia last year, McDonald's US filings reveal, lifting this country's total to 865. That compared with 177 new stores opened in China.

But Australia again lived up to its track record as a hotbed of new ideas for the fast food giant. Chicken McBites have just been launched in the US after being invented in Australia and launched in 2010. ''That's something we're really proud of,'' said a spokeswoman. ''Lots of innovation in McDonald's starts in Australia, like McCafes.''

In the December quarter, McDonald's reported sales of $US6.8 billion, up 10 per cent on the previous year, and net income of $US1.4 billion, up 11 per cent.

McDonald's does not give a country-by-country breakdown but the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa were the strongest of its geographic regions, with sales up by 11 per cent both for the quarter, after stripping out currency impacts, compared with a year earlier, and for the 2011 full year.

Read more: McFlurry of trade brings record year

Note: I'm not a "Macca's" fan and if faced with the requirement to purchase their product I would sooner throw away the contents and eat the packaging as it is probably more healthy and has more fibre in it!