McDonald's Korea lost less last year with BTS, garlic burgers

A McDonald's branch in Seoul [NEWS1]

McDonald’s Korea reported a net loss of 34.9 billion won ($27.8 million) in 2021, improving 47.6 percent from a loss of 66.1 billion won the previous year.

The fast food chain announced Tuesday it logged revenue of 867.9 billion won last year, up 9.7 percent on year. When adding sales of franchises that aren’t directly run by McDonald’s Korea, its total revenue rises to 1.06 trillion won, up 8.2 percent and a record high.

There was no market consensus for the Korean branch compiled by analysts.

Although the company is still seeing losses, it said it achieved significant success last year considering the surging delivery fees it had to pay to third party delivery services. The company operates its own delivery service, but customers can still order on other apps such as Coupang Eats or Baedal Minjok.

“Although we are going through tough times during the pandemic, we were able to log record high revenue by prioritizing customer service and providing high quality products and experiences to our customers,” said a spokesperson for McDonald’s Korea.

McDonald’s Korea said its collaboration with BTS was a huge profit driver, selling 1.45 million BTS Meals as a limited-edition item on the menu last May.

It sold 1.5 million Changnyeong Garlic Burgers since its release in August, which was another a big contributor to its sales.

The company plans to continue its high sales by opening more branches in Korea. One will open in Jeju Island in June.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]