McDonald's to stop publicly announcing its results amid decline in sales

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McDonald's has announced that it will no longer publicly announce its sales figures each month, as it focuses on improving the 'small things' – such as how long it toasts its burger buns.

The fast food giant is currently experiencing one of the worst periods of its 60-year history, as US workers hit out over pay and customers turn to competitors.

The firm's British-born boss, Steve Easterbrook, unveiled an overhaul of McDonald's divisions, including cost-cutting measures, earlier this month - and has now also confirmed that the chain will no longer reveal its monthly takings to its investors.

Instead, backers will have to wait for a quarterly report to see if plans to revive the chain have been successful.

Mr Easterbrooke told an investor conference in New York this week that outlets will be told to toast its buns longer and sear its beef in a different way, to make its signature burgers juicier.

He also pledged to build more side-by-side lanes at drive-through outlets, and to train employees to be more accurate with orders, the Wall Street Journal reported, as well as structural changes including selling more restaurants to franchises and taking away layers of management.

Mr Easterbrooke acknowledged that the company has been struggling in the US, and said it had "failed to keep pace" with the shifting tastes of consumers. He vowed to introduce a simpler menu, for better value.

“Some of the challenges we’ve had in the U.S. have been somewhat self-inflicted,” he added.

But the firm's chief administrative officer, Pete Benson, said McDonald's needed to ensure it didn't stray too far from its roots - for while customers do want higher-quality food, 40 per cent of its sales are from staples, such as chicken nuggets.

He also said that the company was already rolling out key changes - such as offering milk in its Happy Meals for children that is free from artificial growth hormone, and stopping using chicken in the US that is made from birds raised with antibiotics.

It follows reports last month that McDonald's was planning to close hundreds of stores to combat a nosedive in profits.

Kevin Orzan, McDonald’s chief financial officer, said underperforming branches would be shut. It closed 220 restaurants in the first three months of 2015, mostly in the US and China, and another 130 in Japan. This was on top of 350 planned closures.

McDonald’s has 36,000 stores around the globe.