McDonald’s has reported an annual profit of $7,321m for the first nine months of the year and is expecting to post an even bigger profit for the full year.
The fast food giant posted a loss of $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2017, down from a $5.3b profit last year.
Sales of its powdered milk product, which is sold in supermarkets and convenience stores, have also declined by half since the start of the decade.
McDonald’s was forced to halt the sale of its skim milk product in the United States in 2011 after a lawsuit by the United Dairy Farmers (UDF) was filed over the legality of its sale.
However, the company is now seeking approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a new version of its milk powder that will be sold in pharmacies, as well as supermarkets.
It expects the new product to bring in between $7bn and $9bn in revenue in the coming years.
The milk powder is made by a company based in the US called Nido, and is produced from a mixture of milk and other ingredients.
It has been around since the 1990s and has been the subject of legal challenges by US dairy farmers who claim it violates their milk contracts.
McDonalds has not commented on the pending lawsuit.
McDonald said that the price of the powdered milk products is “fairly comparable” to its traditional milk powder, which it said had been sold at $7 a bottle.
It said the powdered products will be offered at a cost of about $5 per litre, while its traditional skim milk products will cost $3.95 per litne.