McDonald's all day breakfast brings company back from the brink

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McDonald’s said the sale of new products and recipes proved successful as the company shares hit an all-time high on Thursday.

In the first significant sign that Chief Executive Steve Easterbook’s turnaround plan is starting to work, McDonald’s sales jumped more than 8 per cent to a record $110.88 in early trading.

In the US, the company reported a surprise 0.9 per cent increase in sales – the first quarterly gain it has made since 2013.

The world’s largest burger chain said products such as the new Premium Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Deluxe sandwich and the decision to swap butter for margarine on its Egg McMuffins helped the division break a two-year streak of quarterly sales declines.

"The progress we have made in a short amount of time gives me confidence we're making the right moves to turn around our business and reposition McDonald's as a modern, progressive burger company," Easterbrook said on a conference call with analysts and investors.

Easterbrook, now eight months into his tenure as CEO, has announced plans to speed up service simplify menus and boost food quality. He recently said he wants to transform the burger chain into a “modern progressive burger company.”

In the United States, he rolled out all-day breakfast, began switching to chicken from birds raised without important antibiotics and raised wages for workers in restaurants run by the corporation.

However these results do not take into account the new all-day breakfast, which some franchisees have branded 'a disaster'. While, a recent survey of US franchise owners about the fast food chain's performance even said Macdonald’s could be in its ‘final days.’

As the currentset of results only include business before the end of September, it is not yet clear how long McDonald’s momentum will continue.

Additional reporting by Reuters