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McDonalds profits slump in face of junk food battle |
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The Guardian
Chris Tryhorn, City correspondent
Tuesday September 28, 2004
Fast food giant McDonald's profits have plunged in Britain to the worst level since they launched 30 years ago, as it continues to battle the war on junk food.
The burger chain's pre-tax profits tumbled by nearly three-quarters in the UK last year, falling to ?23.6m from ?83.8m.
Profits at McDonald's UK arm are at the lowest for a decade and sales have stalled, slipping slightly to ?1.09bn. The figures - revealed in documents filed with Companies House - will come as a blow to the company, which has been trying to reverse a stream of bad publicity.
Health campaigners claim McDonald's food has contributed to the growing problem of obesity in Britain, particularly among children.
One particularly bad dose of PR was the documentary Super Size Me, released in UK cinemas earlier this month, in which film-maker Morgan Spurlock showed the ill effects of eating a McDonald's-only diet.
Spurlock filmed himself gaining weight and becoming ill as he consumed three McDonald's meals a day over a 30-day period.
The company has now phased out its Super Size jumbo portions and overhauled its menu to include salads - although even these have been criticised by campaigners for being too high in calories.
McDonald's has promoted the benefits of healthy exercise with its "Every Step Counts" campaign, which gave away pedometers, and funded a drive to train community football coaches.
Fast food chains and confectioners are under increasing pressure to take some responsibility for the worsening obesity crisis and there are signs that they are taking action to avoid government intervention.
Confectionery firms yesterday announced they would shelve king-size bars - including the bigger versions of Mars and Snickers - to help consumers cut back on unhealthy foods.
And McDonalds has been trying to demonstrate it is taking the challenge seriously launching a new range of healthy salads and a new advertising campaign inviting consumers to come into its restaurants for non burger food.
Earlier this month, the US food chain launched a new phase in its healthy eating campaign with a newspaper advertisement asking readers, "Don't fancy a Hamburger?" and answering, "Then you have come to the right place." Another advert promoted its salads in press adverts with the caption, "Funny looking fries".
The government has been battling with food companies to do something to help fight childhood obesity but has stopped short of intervening with regulation or heeding calls for advertising of junk food to be banned.
The Food and Drink Federation, which represents a number of large food manufacturers, has pledged to make food labels clearer and to reduce the levels of sugar, salt and fat in some products.
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