Domino’s reports ‘solid’ fourth-quarter growth in the UK and Ireland

Pizza chain Domino’s has reported a period of ‘solid’ sales growth across the UK and Ireland in its fourth-quarter of trading. In the 13 weeks to 29 December 2019, UK and ROI system sales were up 4.4% to £326.7m, while total group sales were up 3.7% to £352m. UK like-for-like sales also rose by 3.9%, though like-for-like sales in the ROI fell by 1%. Sales were largely “driven” by online sales, which were up 8.3% in the UK and 11% in the ROI online sales up 11.0%. UK & ROI online business now accounts for 91.3% of delivery sales. International system sales, however, fell by 5% in the period. This follows the group’s announcement in October that it would be exiting its international markets, with the intention of “finding more suitable owners” for its international businesses. The board said it had a particular focus on disposing of its Norwegian businesses due to the “significant operating losses” in this market. After it secures a transaction for Norway, the group will “focus on progressing transactions” for businesses in Sweden, Switzerland and Iceland. The pizza chain announced that 12 stores opened across the UK during the period, while 32 stores opened in the UK and ROI across the entire year. The total store estate at the end of the year was 1,184. David Wild, CEO, said: “I am pleased with the performance of our core UK and Ireland markets, with system sales up 4.4% and UK like-for-likes up 3.9%, against a strong comparative and a competitive backdrop. “This performance was driven by the power of our brand, our strong digital capabilities and the operational expertise of our franchisee partners.” The results follow the death of the group’s CFO, David Bauernfeind, who was killed in a snorkelling accident on Boxing Day. Wild added: “At the end of the period we announced the tragic passing of our CFO. David will be deeply missed by all who knew him and worked with him. “He leaves behind a high-quality finance team who have shown remarkable resilience and dedication over the past month, and we are well advanced in the search for an interim CFO.”