Domino's Pizza UK & IRL plc announces its Interim Management Statement in conjunction with its Annual General Meeting which is to be held at 1pm today [28 March 2012]. Financial data relates to the 13 week period to 25 March 2012 ("the period") unless otherwise stated.
The Company has made a good start to the year with system sales rising by 9.0% to £144.2m (2011: £132.3m) driven by a combination of new store openings and like-for-like sales growth. Like-for-like sales in 660 mature stores increased by 3.5% (2011: 4.2% in 607 mature stores). Like-for-like sales increased in the UK by 3.6% (2011: 5.5%) and the Republic of Ireland by 1.7% (2011: -10.5%).
The Company continues to enjoy strong online growth, with e-commerce sales accounting for 50.6% of UK delivered sales (2011: 39.3%) in the 13 week period. Total online sales for the period were up 44.5% to £59.3m (2011: £41.3m) and, of this, 16.4% was taken through one of Domino's many mobile platforms. In a first for the Company, during the period over £1million in sales were taken through its mobile platforms in a single week. In addition, Domino's continues to develop in the social media arena and now has over 520,000 Facebook fans in the UK, with another 13,700 in the Republic of Ireland (2011: 160,000 total), and over 22,000 Twitter followers (2011: 5,000) in our respective markets.
During the period, six new stores (2011: eight) were opened and, with a large number of locations in the pipeline, the Company is confident of achieving the target of 72 new stores during the full year, of which 12 are planned in Germany.
In terms of food costs, 69% of the food basket for 2012 is fixed at the same prices as 2011, so the Company faces fewer cost pressures, providing additional financial stability to franchisees.
We are pleased with the progress being made in Germany and have successfully integrated the comprehensive market research conducted by the Company in the early months of operation with our robust UK practices. This is beginning to pay off with the right menu now in place, good demographic information and a clear roadmap as to how we will develop in the territory. We have identified a number of great locations in the more affluent west of the country and the first of 12 new stores for 2012 is already under construction. In addition, discussions are continuing with a small number of excellent German and UK franchisees who will play an important role in our expansion.
Lance Batchelor, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We are pleased with the Group's performance in the first quarter and, although they are just part of the growth story, it is good to see our like-for-like sales continue to increase. It is especially pleasing to see sales in the Republic of Ireland return to positive territory.
"We may have a softer comparative for the second quarter of the year - but we will not be taking our foot off the accelerator. We have a number of marketing initiatives and other programmes aimed at ensuring our franchisees can profitably grow their businesses in the coming months. This, combined with a full pipeline of potential new sites, expansion in Germany, a strong management team in place and our ever improving operational gearing, makes me confident and optimistic about the months and years ahead."
