26th Apr 2007 07:00
Domino's Pizza UK & IRL PLC26 April 2007 For immediate release 26 April 2007 Domino's Pizza UK & IRL plc AGM STATEMENT Domino's Pizza UK & IRL plc (the "Company" or "Domino's"), the UK and Ireland'sleading pizza delivery company, will be holding its Annual General Meeting at1pm today. Stephen Hemsley, Chief Executive, will make the following statement: "I am pleased to report a strong start to the year with system sales in the 16weeks to 22 April 2007 ahead 24.0% (2006: 18.9%) to £86.8m (2006: £70.0m). Inthe same 16 weeks, like-for-like sales in the 404 mature stores (2006: 357stores) were up 14.6% (2006: 8.8%). This growth was driven by our successfulproduct and marketing innovations. A key driver was also our continuing focus onimproving operational standards, and in particular, improving the speed ofservice to our customers. "We are very encouraged by the strong start to the year, but are mindful of thevery strong comparatives last year as a result of the football World Cup in June/July 2006 and the strong product launch/marketing campaign in the last quarterof 2006. Whilst prospects for 2007 are excellent, we are unlikely to be able tomaintain the like-for-like growth rate achieved in the first 16 weeks of theyear. "A total of 14 new stores have opened as of today's date, (2006:12) and we areat this stage on track to reach our target of 50 store openings this year,despite the challenging planning regime. As a result of our strong trading andon track store openings, we anticipate results for the financial year to beahead of current market expectations. "As of today, there are 464 Domino's Pizza stores open and trading in the UK andIreland and the market continues to offer strong growth opportunities, with thepotential for up to 1,000 stores in these territories. We will continue to focusexclusively on developing the Domino's Pizza brand in these markets." - ends - For further information:Stephen Hemsley - Chief Executive 01908 580604 Lee Ginsberg - Finance Director 01908 580611 Numis Securities Limited 020 7260 1000David Poutney, Nick Westlake The Hogarth Partnership Limited 020 7357 9477Chris Matthews, Fiona Noblet, Anthony Arthur Notes to Editors: Domino's Pizza UK & IRL plc is the parent company of Domino's Pizza Group Ltd('DPG') which holds the exclusive master franchise to own, operate and franchiseDomino's Pizza stores in the UK and Ireland. DPG is the leading player in the UKand Ireland's fast-growing pizza delivery market. The first UK store opened in1985 and the first Irish store opened in 1991. There are 464 stores in the UK and Ireland. Of these, 372 stores are in England,32 are in Scotland, 17 are in Wales, 11 are in Northern Ireland and 32 are inthe Republic of Ireland. As part of a commitment to delivering more to the communities served by itsstores, Domino's Pizza Group Limited is proud to support Special Olympics GB andSpecial Olympics Ireland. Founded in 1960, Domino's Pizza Inc. is the recognised world leader in pizzadelivery. Through its primarily franchised system, Domino's Pizza operates aglobal network of more than 8,000 stores in more than 50 countries. For photography visit www.dominos.uk.com/media or contact The HogarthPartnership Limited on 020 7357 9477. High resolution images are also availablefor the media to review and download free of charge from www.vismedia.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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