The company has opened in excess of 300 stores so far thisfiscal year, with most of the growth coming in Latin America andEurope. Store openings are up nearly 40% compared to last year and50% over each previous year. The closures are due, in part, torestructuring efforts in the UK and the Philippines.

During the quarter, which ended March 31, worldwide same-storesales rose 3.2%. In North America, they were up 2.6%, and in the USalone, restaurants posted a 2.7% gain. Across the rest of theglobe, comparable sales shot up 5.3%.

Management says that increasing its efforts to increase thenumber of US stores with hours open after midnight from 60% tosystem-wide by the end of May will give same-store sales a boost.It will also give them a bit of an edge on competitor McDonald's,which has a sizable number of units with those hours, says JohnChidsey, Burger King's chief executive officer. "We're the onesplaying catch up," he says. "You've really got to becompetitive."