McDonald's India operator Westlife quarterly loss narrows as promotions attract customers

By Reuters News
An advertisement for McDonald's new protein slice is displayed on an ordering kiosk at a McDonald's restaurant in Bengaluru, India, August 21, 2025. REUTERS/Priyanshu Singh

Oct 23 (Reuters) - Westlife Foodworld WEST.NS, which operates some McDonald's MCD.N restaurants in India, posted a narrower quarterly loss on Friday, as discounted meals and limited-edition collectibles attracted consumers even as expenses soared.

The franchisee said loss before tax and exceptional items stood at 26.95 million rupees ($283,900.87) for the quarter ended September 30 against a loss of 158.5 million rupees a year earlier.

Shares of the company rose 3% to 547.8 rupees in afternoon trading on Friday.

During the reporting quarter, McDonald's offered meals starting at 99 rupees, delivery discounts, 50% off on select combos for a few days and limited-edition Spider-Man merchandise to attract customers.

Westlife's revenue from operations rose over 16% to 7.42 billion rupees from 6.38 billion last year.

However, the cost of materials surged nearly 37% to 2.42 billion during the same period.

Restaurants have seen costs of everything from raw materials and energy rising since ​the onset of ​the Middle ⁠East war, while sustained spending to fend off competition from local restaurant chains such as California Burrito and Wow Momo, and other independent restaurants weighed ​on margins.

($1 = 94.9275 Indian rupees)

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