Burger King Profit, Sales Decline

MIAMI (TheStreet) --- It looks like the King fell off his throne a bit in its fiscal first quarter. Burger King Holdings(BKC Quote), the nation's second-ranked burger joint behind McDonald's(MCD Quote), said the economic recession took a big bite out of its top and bottom lines.

Net income fell to $46.6 million, or 34 cents a share, from $49.8 million, or 36 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Sales dropped 5% to $636.9 million from $673.5 million.

Wall Street expected the company to produce earnings of 37 cents a share on the back of $652.8 million in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters.

Looking ahead, Burger King Chairman and CEO John Chidsey said in a statement that the company will continue on its strategic plan, though it anticipates that "the unpredictable consumer environment will persist" in the 2010 fiscal year.

-- Written by Sung Moss in New York

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