Price cuts give hungry diners Domino’s effect

Domino’s Pizza smashed City sales forecasts on Tuesday after a £4 million discounting campaign helped tempt back cost-conscious consumers.

The chain said franchisees delivered a record 200,000 online orders — 140 a minute — on the last Saturday in September, driven by the launch of its Dine for £9.99 promotion.

With a new advertising campaign — the Official Food of Everything — also boosting momentum, same-store sales jumped 8.1% in the 13 weeks to September 24.

That was much better than the 3% to 5% forecast in the City, and stronger than chief executive David Wild had been expecting.

Shares jumped 10% to 332.8p, helping the stock regain ground after disappointing summer trading.

Wild said: “It’s been a very good three months. We think there’s a need to offer great value for money as customers are feeling uncertain at the moment.”

However, broker Liberum cautioned against reading too much into one quarter of improved performance, particularly if margins continue to come under pressure from discounting.

Analyst Wayne Brown said: “The long-term sales trend is clear and we see no abatement to pressures.”