Price increases helped McDonald's report higher profits Thursday as the fast-food giant navigates an inflationary environment that it argues advantages the Big Mac maker over its competitors.

 
   Facing elevated costs for paper, food and labor, the restaurant chain lifted prices "a little over six percent" in the United States last year without seeing consumer pushback, said Chief Financial Officer Kevin Ozan.
 
   We "generally try and take small increments of pricing at various times versus take a lot at one time," Ozan said on a conference call with analysts, adding that the fast-food giant continues to receive good scores on value from surveys of customers.

HM