McDonald's Corp. on Tuesday said quarterly profit rose, helped by a popular Happy Meal promotion and strong European sales during the World Cup soccer tournament.

Second-quarter net income rose to $834.1 million, or 67 cents per share, from $530.4 million, or 42 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Excluding income from the sale of some of its shares in Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. and expense from a tax law change, earnings were 59 cents per share in the latest period, in line with the preliminary figure McDonald's gave last week.

McDonald's has been adding premium items such as an Asian chicken salad in an effort to boost sales. A recent Happy Meal promotion tied to the animated movie Cars also lifted demand in the latest period. Sales were particularly strong in Germany, which hosted the World Cup.

McDonald's shares trade at about 15.6 times analysts' profit forecasts for the current year, compared with 26.9 times for smaller rival Wendy's International Inc., according to Reuters Estimates.