Wendy’s International, Inc., announced preliminary sales for the month of November, which ended on December 2, 2001.

Same-store sales grew 1.6 percent at Wendy’s(R) U.S. company restaurants, on top of a 3.4 percent increase in the same period a year ago. The November performance, says the chain, was a significant improvement over Wendy’s sales increase during October.

Same-store sales grew 6.0 percent at Tim Hortons restaurants in Canada, on top of a 9.5% percent increase a year ago, while same-store sales increased 6.1 percent at Tim Hortons restaurants in the United States, on top of a 17.3 percent increase a year ago.

“We are pleased with our sales performance considering the tough economic conditions in North America,” said chairman and CEO Jack Schuessler. “Our core restaurant business is in good shape.

“At Wendy’s, trends are stabilizing, and we are encouraged with November sales,” he said. “We are optimistic that trends will continue to improve as we focus on quality products, balanced marketing, and our Service Excellence program, rather than price discounting that we’ve seen in the quick-service restaurant industry.”

The company says it continues to face certain cost pressures as beef prices are higher than a year ago and the weakening Canadian dollar is causing foreign currency pressure. The company is generating lower than expected interest income as rates continue to fall.