Domino's makes strong start to the year

Delivery firm Domino's Pizza has made a strong start to the year as consumers look to cut costs by ordering takeaways rather than eating out.

In the 26 weeks to 29 June, Domino's saw sales at its 526 franchised stores hit a record £170.2m, 19.5% up on the year before (£142.5m).

Pre-tax profit for the period increased 17.2% to £9.7m (2007: £8.3m), although this included exceptional costs of £1.2m relating to the firm's move from the Alternative Investment Market to the main market on the London Stock Exchange.

The company, which has opened half of its targeted 50 new outlets for the year, revealed that e-commerce sales now account for 21.8% of its delivered pizzas in the UK and were up 85.1% to £25.3m (2007: £13.7m).

Domino's added that while food inflation remained a concern, increased costs from last year had been passed on to the consumer, while fixed price contracts with suppliers meant the issue would not have a direct impact for the remainder of this year.

Stephen Hemsley, executive chairman of Domino's Pizza said: "We are confident of further strong growth in sales and profits and are well placed to exceed market expectations for the year."

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By Chris Druce

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