McDonald’s Financial Year 2018 - UK statement

Paul Pomroy, CEO McDonald’s UK & Ireland:

“2018 was a strong year for our business; together with our franchisees, we served over a billion customers, closed the year with a record-breaking month in December, and have now delivered 51 consecutive quarters of sales and guest count growth. We are pleased to be succeeding by continuing to listen and invest in what customers want: choice, value and convenience, and doing right by our people.

“Last year, we saw a number of different areas relating to our menu drive sales and guest count growth; our McCafe range has maintained its popularity with coffee drinkers now our most frequent customers; people may be surprised to know that we are second in this market, and to keep pace with changing customer expectations, we are expanding our barista made coffee trial beyond London and into the Midlands.  Favourites from our Saver Menu, like the cheeseburger, also proved the importance of offering great value and price sensitivity for our customers, and in February we celebrated the 50th Birthday of the Big Mac with two promotional sizes added to the range - the Mac Junior and Grand Big Mac which was our most successful promotion in the history of the UK & Irish business. This year we have an exciting opportunity to build on that success and make the promotion even bigger!  Not only will we delight customers with the return of the Grand Big Mac and Mac Junior, which launches today, this time offering the Big Mac range with bacon.

“Between 2014 and 2018, with our franchisees, we invested over £1.1billion in our restaurants, transforming our estate and revolutionising the McDonald’s experience. From drive-thrus and 24hour opening to self-order screens, the expansion of McDelivery into nearly 700 restaurants, and the launch of our app offering click-and-collect, all providing the convenience our customers want in a way that best suits them.  We know our customers have an even better experience when our technology is complemented by hospitality from our people, which is why we continue to invest in our workforce.  Last year we recruited over 1000 new managers and in January, we announced hourly pay increases in our company owned restaurants, with pay rates 24% higher since 2015, and 30% higher for our youngest workers. 

“Looking to the future, we have no intention of slowing down and will continue to invest in the customer experience and our people.  Our growth to date is also allowing us to accelerate our openings, creating more opportunities for our franchisees and more jobs in communities up and down the country.  

“We knew 2018 would be tough with very difficult trading conditions, and low consumer confidence, but when I reflect on our year, it’s with enormous pride.  Our strategy was customer focused, and we continued to invest in the overall experience and our people, delivering surprising and innovative moves which enabled us to continue to bust myths and drive brand reappraisal.  We celebrate 45 years in the UK this year; we have a durable business model that has stood the test of time, and the fact we continue to outperform the market tells me our model is working.  We live in challenging times but I am confident that we have the firepower and strength to continue to deliver for our customers and our people – by continuing to invest and innovate, but also staying true to what we know our customers love about us.”