OAK BROOK, Ill. (MarketWatch) -- Economists claim they are seeing signs of a bottom to the worst recession in decades, but McDonald's Corp.'s chief executive, who is in the trenches with consumers, doesn't quite see it that way.

At Wednesday's annual meeting here, Jim Skinner told reporters that the green shoots of growth that will turn the economy around, albeit slowly, are not vegetating in his global backyard.

"There are sectors relative to the economy where one could argue we're not at a bottom," he said.

McDonald's (MCD), however, has weathered the storm well -- global same-store sales climbed 6.9% in April -- and Skinner said the company is on track to turn in strong results in 2009.

"We operate from a position of strength in this environment," he said, adding that the fast-food giant has taken five to six years to position itself. "But, yes, we operate better in a robust economy."

"Our momentum is continuing into 2009," he told shareholders.

Meanwhile, McDonald's two largest rivals Burger King and the Wendy's/Arby's Group (WEN) saw their quarterly sales fall below expectations.

"The true test is when a company can perform well in tough times," he said.

Very very very well

Earlier this month, McDonald's rolled out its most expansive line of new beverages with the McCafe coffee line, which competes head-to-head with Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) and other coffee shops, with hot and iced mochas, lattes and cappuccinos, as well as hot chocolate drinks.

The early coffee sales results "are gong very, very, very well," said Don Thompson, president of McDonald's USA, "from the value and price aspect and the convenience aspect, as well as the taste aspect. The taste of the espresso-based coffee is really, really phenomenal.

While the company said it is confident it has gained market share from its coffee rivals, the numbers won't be available for at least another six months. So far, Thompson said, the results have exceeded expectations, with 55% of the coffee sales coming from what are considered customer trade-ups from regular coffee, and another 40% to 44% of sales generated from new customers.

McDonald's will introduce McCafes in about 1,100 stores in Europe and believes it can become the leading coffee seller on the continent. Its aggressive moves into Europe, mostly in the United Kingdom, come at a time when Starbucks is pulling back.

McDonald's will add frappes, frappuccinos and smoothies sometime next year, with new bottled drinks. The jury's still out, however, on energy and sports drinks, pending better testing results, Thompson said.