NEW YORK : Fast-food giant McDonald's on Wednesday posted better-than-expected profit in the second quarter on robust international sales despite rising commodity prices.

The company reported second-quarter net profit of 1.19 billion dollars, or 1.04 dollars per share, compared with a loss of 711 million dollars in the same period in 2007.

Excluding one-time charges, earnings per share were 94 cents, solidly beating most analysts' forecasts of 86 cents.

Revenue rose 4.0 percent to 6.075 billion dollars, up from 5.839 billion in the 2007 second quarter.

Comparable sales grew worldwide by 6.1 percent, spurred by sales outside the United States, the company said.

For the US, sales rose 3.4 percent on a comparable basis, while sales in Europe jumped 7.4 percent. Sales in Australia and China led the 8.8 percent increase in the combined Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions.

Operating income was up 6.0 percent in the US, but surged 29 percent in Europe and 37 percent in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions.

McDonald's said it had managed to limit pressures from soaring commodity and food prices to a 1.0 percent rise in costs for the restaurants it directly manages. - AFP/de