NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - McDonald's Corp. posted its first quarterly loss, as the world's largest fast-food chain reported smaller operating income in the fourth quarter that met lowered forecasts and announced additional restaurant closings.

The company reported a net loss of $343.8 million, or 27 cents a share, due to a charge of $810.2 million, or 52 cents a share, to close underperforming restaurants. That compares to net income of $271.9 million, or 21 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.

In November the company announced plans to close 175 restaurants, mostly overseas, and last month it said it would take a $435 million charge related to those closings that would result in a net loss of 5 to 6 cents a share. Thursday the company said it had decided to close an additional 517 restaurants and terminate a long-term $1 billion technology project. That increased charge resulted in the larger-than-projected net loss for the company.

Shares of McDonald's (MCD: down $0.40 to $14.96, Research, Estimates), a component of the Dow Jones industrial average, lost about 4 percent in early trading Thursday following the report.

Excluding special items, the company reported earnings of 25 cents a share in the quarter, down from $443.4 million, or 34 cents a share, earned on that basis a year earlier. Last month the company said it expected EPS of 25 to 26 cents, excluding items. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call had lowered their consensus EPS forecast to 25 cents from 31 cents before the December warning.

Revenue for the company grew to just under $4.0 billion from $3.77 billion a year earlier, topping First Call's forecast of basically flat revenue in the period. Total systemwide sales, including at restaurants owned by franchisees, rose to $10.5 billion from $10.1 billion a year earlier.

The company pledged to hold back spending, including capital spending and share repurchases, as a way of trying to free up resources, grow earnings and pay down debt.

The company's new CEO, Jim Cantalupo, said that an earnings growth target of 10 to 15 percent for the company is not unrealistic, although he did not give any time frame for when that could be achieved. Analysts expect only modest growth of earnings per share to $1.37 in 2003 excluding items, up from $1.33 on that basis in 2002.

"We're not a cash cow or a gazelle, but somewhere in the middle of that range," Cantalupo said in a conference call with analysts.

According to industry watchers, McDonald's dilemma is that the company 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.

McDonald's, which said last week that it would not offer guidance for 2003, said it would remodel 200 stores in the first quarter, close 400 of its traditional restaurants, and would pull out of its Asia-Pacific and Latin America, citing a challenging economic environment.

"There was really nothing new out of the conference call," said Howard Penny, analyst with SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. "What management indicated is that they'll take a slow methodical approach rather than a radical approach to improving business."