McDonald's reached a net income of $1.19 bln in its second quarter on total sales of almost $6.1 bln, which has proven to be an impressive improvement over the same quarter in 2007 when the company posted a net loss of $711.7 mln on revenues of $5.8 bln.

McDonald's believes that this increase in sales is due, in part, to new chicken items, the Southern Style Chicken Biscuit and Sandwich that were launched earlier in 2008.

Menu changes to fight rising prices

The company announced that the rising cost of chicken, in combination with a tough economy, will cause the chain to alter its popular dollar menu.

"In this current environment, we've got to make sure we're pricing smart, not just pricing low," said Ralph Alvarez, McDonald's president and COO.