Thu 5th Mar 2020 - Domino’s Pizza reports ‘solid’ full-year performance by UK business Domino’s Pizza reports ‘solid’ full-year performance by UK business: Domino’s Pizza has reported underlying UK like-for-like sales were up 3.7% (excluding splits) for the 52 weeks ending 29 December 2019, in what it described as a “solid” performance by its core business. UK and Ireland system sales rose 4.8% to £1.21bn while underlying UK and Ireland Ebit increased 1.4% to £102.4m. During the year, the company opened 32 stores in the UK and Ireland, of which 29 were franchised, by 23 different franchisees. Domino's said digital continues to be a driver of growth, with online accounting for 91.1% of UK delivery sales. Group underlying Ebit was up 1.7% to £105.3m. Underlying profit before tax was down 1.2% to £98.8m. This excludes net non-underlying charges of £23.7m, largely relating to the previously announced corporate store impairment of £18.7m and contribution to the e-Commerce fund of £7.1m. Domino's said the international disposal process was progressing, and as previously reported a deal for the Norway business has been agreed subject to shareholder approval. It added the search for the new chairman was progressing, and the recruitment process for the interim chief financial officer was continuing. It reiterated its stance that resolving its franchisee dispute was “crucial” for the long-term growth of the system, and “a key priority” for the board. Domino's added the potential impact from coronavirus was “difficult to determine, with the situation continuing to evolve”. Chief executive David Wild said: “Our core UK and Ireland business continues to deliver a solid trading result, with UK like-for-like sales up 3.7%. Our digital capabilities continue to fuel this growth, with online sales up 8.8%. Collection also saw a good performance, up 5.3%, and this remains a significant opportunity for us going forward. In February we were pleased to announce a disposal of our Norwegian business, which is subject to shareholder approval, and we expect this to complete by the end of May. We continue to prioritise transactions for our remaining international businesses, although expect that these may take some time as we ensure that we find the best owners for these businesses.” Interim chairman Ian Bull added: “The board is encouraged by the performance in the UK and Ireland, in an uncertain environment. We have four key priorities – recruiting a new chairman, chief executive and chief financial officer, reinforcing our core business, rebuilding our franchisee relationship and finding the right owners for our international businesses. We are giving these priorities considerable time and focus and are confident in the long-term prospects for the group.”