McDonald’s Chief Financial Officer, Ian Borden, acknowledged on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, that international sales will decline successively in the current quarter, as a result of the “war in the Middle East” and weak demand in China, which caused the company’s shares to decline by more than 3.5% before midday trading. today.
This comes in light of the continuing boycott campaigns in several countries as a result of the company’s support for the occupying entity, in light of the continuing Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip.
Borden said, at the UBS Global Consumer and Retail Conference, that first-quarter comparable sales in McDonald’s licensed international development markets segment would be “slightly lower” than the previous three-month period.
In February, the company did not meet Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter sales in this sector, partly due to protests and boycott campaigns against many Western brands, due to its position in support of the occupation entity in its aggression against Gaza.
“We continue to deal with the effects of war in the Middle East. But we are also seeing what I would call a slow start in China this year,” Borden said.
Global companies such as McDonald’s are also facing weak demand in China, where hiring issues, a worsening real estate crisis and economic uncertainties have dampened consumer sentiment.
Calls to boycott McDonald’s began due to the company’s support for the occupying entity and financing of Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories. These calls increased after some of the company’s branches announced support for the occupation army in its aggression against Gaza, which entered its sixth month last week.
McDonald’s admitted that there was a “tangible” impact of the boycott campaigns on its sales in some Arab countries, which forced it to close some of its branches in some Arab countries, after a decline in sales.
Gaza
Read more in: The Gulf and the World
2024-03-13 18:32:02
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