McDonald's bolstered by new menu items McDonald's, the world's largest restaurant chain by revenues, said its modernised stores and growing demand for its new menu items such as Chicken McBites helped drive strong first quarter sales in spite of economic headwinds. Net income at McDonald's rose 5 per cent from a year ago to $1.26bn, or $1.23 a share, as revenues rose 7 per cent to $6.5bn. The results were in line with expectations of Wall Street analysts and shares of McDonald's rose 1.65 per cent to $96.85 in pre-market trading in New York. Comparable store sales were strong around the world, led by a rise of 8.9 per cent in the US. Same store sales in Europe were up 5 per cent, led by the UK and Russia, and sales in Asia, the Middle East and Africa were up 5.5 per cent, led by China. McDonald's results come as the company is about to embark on a significant leadership transition. Jim Skinner, the company's chief executive, said last month that he will retire in June and be replaced by Don Thompson, who has served most recently as the restaurant chain's chief operating officer. McDonald's is facing more aggressive competition from Wendy's and Burger King, which recently decided to go public again and has said it will look to adopt parts of the McDonald's playbook. McDonald's said its global comparable stores sales are expected to rise 4 per cent year-on-year in April.