Burger King's profit climbs on strength overseas

NEW YORK - Burger King (BKW) reported a higher quarterly profit as growth overseas helped lift a key sales figure.

The Miami-based chain says global sales rose 1.7 percent at locations open at least a year, with particularly strong results in Asia. In North America, where it introduced lower-calorie french fries called Satisfries, the figure edged up 0.2 percent.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, Burger King says it earned $66.8 million, or 19 cents per share. That compares with $48.6 million, or 14 cents per share, a year ago.

Not including one-time items, it said it earned 24 cents per share, above the 23 cents per share Wall Street expected.

The sale of company-owned restaurants to franchisees led to lower revenue $265.2 million, which was below the $268.2 million analysts expected.