Domino's Pizza Group, the leading pizza company in the UK, has reported strong results for the 26 weeks ended 25 June 2017, and revealed it's accelerating store roll-out with 90 UK openings this year.
Group system sales were up by 10.5%, with UK system sales up 6.5%, and 2.4% in like-for-like growth. Online sales rose by 11.5%, and now represents 75% of total sales.
During the period, the company opened 40 new stores.
The firm will see a New Warrington supply chain centre go live in Q1 2018, which will deliver additional capacity and future productivity gains.
CEO David Wild said, 'The first half of 2017 has been another period of good progress for Domino's Pizza Group, despite a more uncertain UK economic environment. The core business delivered strong year-on-year system sales, continuing to take pizza market share, with good like-for-like performance.
'We've had a record six months in the UK, opening 40 new stores and have consequently raised our expectations from 80 to 90 this year. I'm delighted we'll shortly be opening our 1,000th British unit and we are well on track to achieve our goal of 1,600.
'DPG continues to lead the pizza market, with innovations such as the popular Lotta-Chocca pizza and our launch today of Amazon Echo voice ordering. Following a successful trial, we'll be rolling out GPS, which will enable customers to track their delivery and help franchisees with labour management.'
Wild continued, 'This autumn, we'll invest around £4m to improve customer value, supported by a bold new advertising campaign.
'We've taken controlling positions in our Nordics operations and completed the acquisition of the Dolly Dimple's pizza chain in Norway, giving us immediate scale with promising early results in attractive markets, which are, as yet, underdeveloped.
'Our ongoing investment in growth, our new Warrington supply chain centre, digital capabilities and overseas expansion is balanced by returning capital to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks'
Wild concluded, 'Whilst we acknowledge that our UK consumers are currently more cautious about the economic outlook, we're focussing on growth investment with our franchisees; boosting marketing; improving customer engagement and enhancing our leading position in food delivery. Pizza remains the world's most popular delivered food, and Domino's is the top choice for consumers.'