Starbucks focuses on China amid slowing growth in the U.S.

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The profit coincided with expectations of analysts and the company lowered its forecast for the current quarter amid the weakness of the retail and restaurant industries in the U.S.

The new head of Starbucks, Kevin Johnson, said that the world's largest coffee shop network would invest in China in the long term, amid concerns about a drop in demand in the U.S., the main market for the company.

Previously, Starbucks reported that it would buy the remaining 50 percent of East China's affiliates from partners for approximately $ 1.3 billion, which would be the largest acquisition for the company.

The company's net profit fell 8.3 percent to $ 691.6 million, or 47 cents per share, in the third quarter ended July 2. Excluding a number of balance sheet items, Starbucks earned 55 cents per share, which coincided with the consensus forecast of analysts polled by Reuters.

Sales in American cafes, open at least 13 months, rose 5 percent for the quarter.

At the same time, the company lowered the annual target of net profit per share to $ 1.96- $ 1.97 from a previously lowered forecast of $ 2.06- $ 2.10.

Comparable sales in China grew by 7 percent.