Domino's Pizza profit to beat forecasts

Domino's Pizza expects annual profit to beat market forecasts after strong performance in the fourth quarter as British families ordered pizza while watching television.

Group sales at the pizza chain rose 18% to £321.8m in the 13 weeks to 24 December as UK and Ireland sales increased 10.1% to £294.7m. Sales in the UK at outlets open a year or more rose 6.1% and equivalent sales in Ireland were up 10.4%.

David Wild, Domino's chief executive, said the UK business demonstrated its resilience in a difficult market. Consumers have been tightening their belts amid economic and political uncertainty and with prices rising faster than wages.

He said: "We expect full year underlying profit before tax to be slightly above the current range of market expectations."

Domino's said it benefited from British families ordering food while watching X Factor and other entertainment at the weekend.

"The start of the X Factor Final on 2 December 2017 was the catalyst for our biggest day of sales for the year, demonstrating the growing trend for combining ordering in with family entertainment. Sales were up 25% over the average Saturday across the year," Domino's said.

International sales rose 23% to £27.1m in the fourth quarter, driven by strong business in Switzerland. Domino's also has operations in Iceland, Norway and Germany, where it has struggled to attract value-conscious consumers away from local pizza restaurants.

Domino's shares rose 3% to 361p at 08:37 GMT. The company will publish full-year results on 8 March.