NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - McDonald's said Thursday it will not offer earnings forecasts for this year, joining companies like Coca-Cola Co. that are scaling back the financial guidance they offer investors.

McDonald's warned in mid-December that it would record its first quarterly loss ever for the fourth quarter, hurt by costs associated with pulling out of some foreign markets and cutting staff.

Chairman and CEO Jim Cantalupo made the announcement in his first speech to investors, during which he also said he backs the company's much-maligned "Dollar Menu" and says his management team will be focused on improving existing operations rather than opening new restaurants.

"Right now we're focused on fixing our basic business," Cantalupo said in a conference call. "I feel a lot of [our] growth [in the future] will come in the existing business and not in opening new restaurants."

Cantalupo says he supports the dollar menu, but that he's "not married to any single item on the menu." McDonald's (MCD: down $0.73 to $15.96, Research, Estimates) has come under fire from Wall Street analysts for including high-margin sandwiches such as the Big n' Tasty on the dollar menu.

The company also plans to change its kitchen operations to improve food taste and service, Cantalupo said, and is abandoning plans to develop a billion-dollar global technology system.

But analysts appeared to be little impressed by Cantalupo's initiatives. "There was no incremental news that came out of the meeting," said Sandy Sanders, restaurant and food analyst with Evergreen Investments. "McDonald's has reached maturity in its life cycle and it can't turn around, while its growth may be on the decline as consumers move toward healthier choices."

Sanders added, "McDonald's will continue to face more [competitive] pressure due to the proliferation of new [healthier] options like Cosi and Panera Bread."

Cantalupo also said the company will close more stores this year in the U.S. and Japan, although the details won't be available until next week's annual earnings report. McDonald's currently operates more than 30,000 restaurants in 121 countries.

Cantalupo told analysts he was well aware that McDonald's had lost credibility with Wall Street but that the company is embarking on a turnaround of undetermined length. McDonald's shares have fallen 37 percent in the past year, compared with a 13 percent decline in the Dow Jones industrial average.