Domino's sales jump in Q3, on track for FY expectations

Domino’s Pizza said on Wednesday that it continued to trade well in the third quarter, building on the company’s “very strong” first half.

In a trading update for 27 June to 25 September, Domino’s said trading in the core UK business was strong, driven by continued investment in its digital platform and supported by the 21 new stores opened in the period, which brought the total year-to-date to 51.

It reported an 11.5% jump in system sales to £237m, with sales in the UK up 10.5% to £220.9m. Sales in the Republic of Ireland were up 7.6% to €14.9m, with sales in Switzerland 16.7% higher at CHF4.8m.

The group said Ireland benefited from the increasing trend towards digital ordering and the growing economy, while in Switzerland, the growth in sales came despite being unable to offer carry-out due to a local licensing issue in two stores.

Chief executive David Wild said: "The business continues to trade well with a strong sales uplift across the group during the period. As highlighted at our interim results in July, we face tough comparatives in the second half of the year, but our continued investment in e-commerce, our international expansion and the launch of our new Italiano range taking us to new customers, will help to drive performance for the remainder of the year. Our new store programme provides a strong platform for future growth.”

Domino’s said the comparatives remain challenging, but the continued strong sales performance means it is confident its forecast full-year results will be in line with market expectations.

In addition, the company said it has raised its UK openings expectation to 80 new outlets this year from 70, given the strong new store performance of the business in the third quarter.