UK’s Domino’s Pizza gets sales boost from new products

LONDON — Britain's biggest pizza delivery firm Domino's Pizza UK & IRL Plc said it was on track to meet full year expectations after sales growth accelerated, benefiting from the launch of new stuffed crust and 'Gourmet' ranges. The company, which runs the British and Irish franchises of the global delivery brand, said its stuffed crust range had proved popular after being launched in response to customer demand. It added the 'Gourmet' range, which it hopes will appeal to a new sector of potential customers, had also been well received with its launch coinciding with Domino's sponsorship of high profile television show 'Red or Black'. Domino's, which operates 702 shops on a franchise basis, has performed strongly throughout the economic downturn, benefiting from cash-strapped customers staying in and ordering takeaways rather than going out to eat. "Although the economy as a whole is still very tough we are on track and confident that we will finish the year in line with market expectations," said chief executive Chris Moore. Domino's said sales for the third quarter to Sept. 25 rose by 9.8 percent to 127 million pounds ($199 million). Sales at its 605 shops open more than a year grew by 3.9 percent. For the year to date, total sales were up 9.2 percent to 385.4 million pounds, with comparable sales up 2.9 percent. Domino's said strong sales growth in Britain had offset a decline in sales in Ireland where trading remained tough. Market expectations for Domino's full year pretax profit range between 40.7 million and 43 million pounds, with the average forecast at 42.2 million, according to a Thomson Reuters poll of nine analysts. Domino's confirmed that Moore will step down as chief executive at the end of the year to be replaced by current deputy chief executive and ex-Tesco Mobile boss Lance Batchelor. — Reuters