In August, APMEA's comparable sales decreased 14.5%, largely due to the recent supplier issue in China, which has significantly impacted results in China, Japan and certain other markets. APMEA is in the process of undertaking recovery strategies in order to restore customers' trust and confidence while continuing to pursue value, convenience and menu initiatives that differentiate the McDonald's experience.
As we continue to assess the impact of the supplier issue in China, we currently estimate that this issue will negatively impact third quarter results by about $0.15 - $0.20 per share in comparison to prior year results. This is largely due to a combination of lost sales, expenses associated with our recovery efforts and the impact of these items on the third quarter tax rate, which is expected to be above the Company's outlook for the full-year tax rate of 31-33%. An update on the Company's full-year 2014 financial outlook will be provided in conjunction with McDonald's third quarter earnings release in October.
Systemwide sales for the month decreased 2.9%, or 1.3% in constant currencies