Fastfood company McDonald’s Japan has announced that it is to withdraw from its Pret a Manger sandwich chain joint venture to focus more on its core McDonald’s operations.


The company, which is 50% owned by US fastfood giant McDonald’s, also announced that it expects to post a group net loss of ¥3.7bn (US$33.6m) for the year to 31 December, compared to a previous forecast of a ¥2.1bn net profit.


“Considering the necessity for McDonald’s Japan to focus on our core business, we have concluded that it would not be appropriate to make further investment to Pret a Manger at this stage and we should withdraw,” the company was quoted by Reuters as saying.


McDonald’s Japan said its 2003 results would be hit by a special loss related to job cuts and other restructuring measures.


The company plans to book a special loss of ¥7.6bn, including ¥3.6bn related to job cuts and ¥2.6bn related to its withdrawal from the Pret a Manger business.

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McDonald’s Japan said same-store sales fell 8.1% in September, following an 8.8% decline in August, despite efforts by the company to boost per-customer sales by lifting the prices of Big Macs and other burgers.


The company operated 3,776 outlets in Japan as of 31 October.