McDonald’s Australia records $2bn in annual sales driven by McCafe and home delivery

One in four coffees now sold in Australia is from a McDonald’s, helping the fast-food chain hit $2bn in sales as budget-conscious consumers look for value.

McDonald's Australia CEO Antoni Martinez said home delivery, app and coffee have proved popular.

Fast-food giant McDonald’s annual sales in Australia hit a record $2bn in 2022, thanks to the growing popularity of its coffee and home delivery options which have grabbed market share from rivals.

The latest accounts show that since Covid-impacted 2020, McDonald’s has grown annual sales by $300m with it relying more on drive thru and digital traffic via its mobile app to keep its customers engaged and coming back for more.

The chain says one in every four coffees sold in Australia is from one of its McCafes and it sells an average of about 600,000 cups a day.

Home delivery is also proving crucial in McDonald’s fight for customers in the crowded and highly competitive fast-food sector with recent innovations around using third party online platforms such as UberEats as well its own recently launched home delivery platform generating strong sales growth.

Delivery now represents around 10 per cent of total sales, while the world’s largest restaurant chain’s mobile app has about 1.8m customer interactions a month.

Latest accounts for McDonald’s Australia shows sales in calendar 2022 hit $2bn, up from $1.831bn in 2021, while its net profit for the year rose to $245.69m from $236.43m.

Its accounts stretching back to when the global pandemic began reveal that McDonald’s sales have lifted by roughly $300m, or 17 per cent.

It has also proved a handy source of income for its US parent company, as McDonald’s paid $230m in dividends in 2022 and $270m in 2021, according to its 2022 accounts lodged with the corporate regulator.

The key drivers of the strong performance in 2022 was put down to a number of its in-store and digital offerings, according to the directors report.

“McDonald’s Australia has delivered consistent growth in sales, profitability and market share with coffee, delivery and digital sales among the most significant drivers of growth,” the report said.

Delivery now represents around 10 per cent of McDonald’s system-wide sales. Picture: Tony Gough

Recently appointed McDonald’s Australia chief executive Antoni Martinez told The Australian the fast-food chain was coming out of Covid-19 with a strong offer to customers that was winning it market share.

“As you’ve seen, McDonald’s Australia continued to perform well last year. I put this down to our relentless focus on the customer and ensuring we’re there when our customers want us, whether that’s in restaurant, drive-thru, or delivery,” Mr Martinez said.

“Coffee, delivery and digital continue to be among the key drivers of our growth. We’re really proud of McCafé at Macca’s. We launched McCafe in Australia 30 years ago and, incredibly, one in every four coffees sold in Australia every day is from a McCafe.

“This is the result of our focus on quality and consistency as part of our ‘Coffee fit for an Aussie’ campaign, launched in 2021.”

Mr Martinez said in the current economic climate with high inflation and tightening household budgets the restaurant chain was focused on delivering value to its customers as they looked for affordable dining options.

“We recognise that household budgets are under pressure and that consumers are looking for value, everywhere.”

Despite the lockdowns and restrictions imposed around the Covid-19 pandemic McDonald’s was able to keep its restaurant kitchens open and serving customers as it shuttered its in-store dining but pushed sales through its drive thru windows. This as well as home delivery helped it strip away diners from many takeaway chains - especially those fast-food chains that didn’t have drive thru facilities.

Using UberEats as well as other delivery services such as Menulog and Doordash, and now with the roll out of its own McDelivery home delivery service across 800 of its 1020 restaurants, McDonald’s has been able to pump up its sales generated from digital platforms.

“Delivery now represents around 10 per cent of our system-wide sales and continues to be a key focus area for growth. In February, we launched McDelivery in the My Macca’s App, which gives customers the ability to place delivery orders and earn and redeem My Macca’s Rewards points,” Mr Martinez said.

He said the McDonald’s mobile app combined with a loyalty and rewards program was growing in popularity.

“My Macca’s Rewards has been really well received by Aussie customers. We see around 1.8 million customers access great deals and discounts through the My Macca’s App, every month. Our focus this year is to continue to grow the app and provide even more personalised value and rewards.”