McDonald's Korea's losses narrow in 2020

Antoni Martinez, McDonald’s Korea managing director [MCDONALD’S KOREA]

McDonald’s Korea continued to bleed red ink last year.

The company reported a 66.12 billion won ($59 million) net loss for 2020, 18 percent lower than the previous year's 81.04 billion won.

Sales were up 9 percent to reach 791 billion won.

The Korean branch of the global fast food giant cited the impact of Covid-19, but said it expects the earnings to improve this year.

“As expectation towards overcoming Covid-19 grows and consumer sentiment continuously recovers, [the company] is expected to achieve better earnings this year compared to last year,” said a spokesperson for McDonald’s Korea.

The company last year introduced a Best Burger initiative, part of a global campaign intended to upgrade burger quality.

The number of burgers sold last year increased 18 percent.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]