Domino’s reports falling orders in tough delivery market
Shares plunged 7% after the company updated investors on Thursday.
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Your support makes all the difference.Domino’s Pizza saw a drop in the number of orders it received in the three months to the end of September.
The company said it had taken a total of 16.7 million orders in the period, down 1.2% compared to the same three months a year ago. Shares fell 7% on Thursday morning.
The decline was due to a drop-off in the number of delivery orders the business received. They fell 6.3% as the general delivery market was weaker, the business said.
Some of this fall, but not all, was offset by an 8.4% rise in collection orders during the three months.
The business said that since the end of September, total order numbers have returned to growth helped by improvements in delivery.
We remain focused on giving our customers great tasting food, exceptional service and great value, every single time
“Our franchisees are performing well in an uncertain market,” said chief executive Andrew Rennie.
“We remain focused on giving our customers great tasting food, exceptional service and great value, every single time.
“Together, our store openings are ahead of plan and trading well, collections are continuing to grow, our digital strategy is powering ahead, and we are bringing exciting menu innovation to our customers focused on different parts of the day.”
The business said it is ahead on plans to open new sites, with 45 openings so far this year, compared to 21 at the same point last year. It now expects to open at least 60 sites this year.
The sites it has opened performed ahead of expectations, it added.
It said the number of customers choosing to use its app had soared. Around four in five of its online orders are now made through the app, compared to 53% a year ago.
Mr Rennie added: “We’ve continued to make great strategic progress to drive sustainable growth. As we look into next year, we see inflation stabilising and our focus will be on continued customer and order growth, as well as franchisee profitability.
“We remain confident that our resilient, asset-light business model will deliver further financial and strategic progress, and increased returns for our shareholders.”