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By Bloomberg

McDonald’s Corp., attempting a turnaround under new Chief Executive Officer Steve Easterbrook, posted first-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates, hurt by its sixth straight quarter of declining U.S. sales.

Excluding some items, profit was $1.01 a share in the period, the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company said in a statement Wednesday. The average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg was $1.06.

The world’s biggest restaurant chain is struggling to pull itself out of a U.S. sales slump, made worse by fierce competition and a shift toward healthier consumer eating trends. Easterbrook, who took the helm in March, also is taking steps to improve McDonald’s image. That includes boosting pay at company- owned restaurants and curbing the use of antibiotics in its chicken.

“We are developing a turnaround plan to improve our performance and deliver enduring profitable growth,” Easterbrook said in Wednesday’s statement. “We look forward to sharing the initial details of this plan on May 4.”

McDonald’s fell in early trading after the results were posted. Through Tuesday, the shares had gained 1.2 percent this year, trailing the 7.9 percent gain of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Restaurants Index.

U.S. same-store sales fell 2.6 percent in the first quarter. That was worse than the 2.1 percent decline projected by analysts, according to Consensus Metrix. They had dropped 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter.