McDonald's stresses growth in weak economy

McDonald's Corp. expects to carry on in successfully besting the recession, the restaurant giant's chief executive told shareholders Wednesday, even as some fast-food chains have shown recent signs of weakness.

"Our momentum is continuing in 2009,"CEO Jim Skinner said at the company's annual shareholder meeting in Oak Brook.

Fast-food has been a relative bright spot in a restaurant industry that otherwise has been hammered hard by the bleak economy. But even some fast-food chains have seen business slow down lately.

Burger King's sales fell dramatically in March, while Sonic's same-store sales deteriorated slightly. Meanwhile, sales at Wendy's/Arby's Group fell short of expectations during the company's most recent quarter.

But at McDonald's, revenue growth has continued to be strong, with global same store sales up 6.9 percent in April compared to the same period last year.