Domino’s eyes grow hungry for Irish growth
Domino’s Pizza is set to continue its recent expansion in Ireland with the opening of four more outlets this year, writes .
The fast-food company declined to comment on locations for the new takeaway outlets, but the move follows on from one new opening in 2017, which marked the first time in six years Domino’s expanded its Irish footprint.
This year’s openings will boost Domino’s Irish store numbers to 53.
Domino’s share price jumped over 3% on the back of it reporting a 10.2% rise in pre-tax profits for 2017, to £94.4m (€106m). Sales grew by 15% to £1.16bn.
The company — which operates in Britain, Ireland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Switzerland —said that its Irish sales grew by almost 20% to £60.1m.
“Growth in the Republic accelerated in 2017, buoyed by a recovering economy and by our own actions, particularly in digital,” the company said.
Online sales were up by nearly 29% in Ireland during last year. Online orders now represent almost 57% of total pizza sales in Ireland for Domino’s, following a relatively slow adoption.
“Our international operations are becoming a more material part of the group. In Ireland and Switzerland, system sales growth accelerated, supported by very strong digital performance. In the Nordics, the move to majority control and the acquisition in Norway demonstrate our increasing confidence in the opportunity,” said group chief executive David Wild.
In terms of current trading, Domino’s — which acts as the European subsidiary of the larger US group — said like-for-like sales in its core UK market rose by over 7% since the turn of the year.
