NEW YORK (AP) — Higher prices on McDonald's menu led to surprisingly strong comparable-store sales during the first quarter, sending shares up sharply Monday.

The company worked to grow its U.S. business with new initiatives, like swapping out frozen beef patties for fresh ones in its Quarter Pounder burger. It also launched a new value menu earlier this year, reviving its once-popular Dollar Menu, but with items priced at $1, $2 or $3. The idea is to get people in for cheaper items who then upgrade to pricier ones.

Sales rose 2.9 percent at established restaurants in the U.S., the company's biggest market. Worldwide, that figure rose 5.5 percent, which is a lot stronger than the 3.6 percent increase that industry analysts had forecast, according to a survey by FactSet.

The Oak Brook, Illinois, company also reported healthy profits and revenue.

McDonald's earned $1.38 billion, or $1.72 per share, for the period ended March 31. A year earlier, the hamburger chain earned $1.21 billion, or $1.47 per share.

Adjusted earnings came to $1.79 per share, which is way better than the per-share earnings of $1.67 that industry analysts had projected, according to Zacks Investment Research.

Total revenue declined 9 percent $5.14 billion, but still beat expectations. McDonald's said the drop was due to its on-going move to convert more company-owned restaurants into franchised ones, lowering its revenue.

Shares of McDonald's Corp. shares more than 5 percent to $166.55 in early trading.

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Portions of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on MCD at https://www.zacks.com/ap/MCD