DOMINO’S PIZZA, the chain with 44 outlets in Ireland, continued to defy the recession by announcing a 25 per cent increase in pretax profits in Britain and Ireland in the first half of the year.
The company earned £13.6 million (€15.8 million) in the six months to the end of June, and said it had reaped the benefits of sponsoring the television programme Britain’s Got Talent.
In Ireland, operating profits came to £1.7 million (€1.97 million), up 12.5 per cent on the same period in 2008.
Domino’s, which has 576 stores in Britain and Ireland, is in the second year of a three-year deal to sponsor Britain’s Got Talent, the final of which was the most watched programme on British television this year, with 19 million viewers.
Domino’s chief executive Chris Moore said the chain’s like-for-like sales increased 7 per cent despite the impact of economic turbulence and good weather. “While hot weather does have an impact on our business, sales start to come back after prolonged periods of warmer weather after the lure of the barbecue fades,” he said.
