Burger King Holdings posted on Thursday a weaker-than-expected quarterly profit, as the poor economy and high unemployment hurt traffic and said the unpredictable consumer environment would persist.

The seller of the Whopper hamburger said net income was $46.6 million, or 34 cents a share, for the fiscal first quarter ended September 30, compared with $49.8 million, or 36 cents a share, a year earlier.

Analysts, on average, had forecast earnings of 37 cents a share, according to Reuters.

The world's No 2 hamburger chain after McDonald's earlier this month announced the nationwide debut of its $1 quarter-pound double cheeseburger. – Reuters