Burger King profit slips for first quarter

CHICAGO -- Restaurant chain Burger King Corp.'s fiscal first-quarter profit slipped 6 percent as recession weary diners stayed home, the company said Thursday.

The nation's No. 2 hamburger chain blamed record unemployment rates for keeping customers away from its restaurants while also acknowledging that competitors that slashed prices to lure deal-hunting diners also cut into sales.

The company said it earned $46.6 million, or 34 per share, during the three months that ended in late September. A year earlier, it earned $49.8 million, or 36 cents per share.

Revenue at the Miami company sank 5 percent, to $636.9 million from $673.5 million.

Burger King said its profit was dragged down by 2 cents per share because of changes in foreign currencies.

Meanwhile, Burger King said sales in locations open at least a year, an important restaurant performance measure, fell 2.9 percent.

The results were worse than Wall Street forecasts. Analysts expected Burger King to earn 37 cents per share on revenue of $652.8 million.