Domino's to double its outlets by 2006 as sales surge 21%

Domino's Pizza yesterday moved to consolidate its position as the UK's largest deliverer of pizzas with aggressive expansion plans as it posted a 21 per cent surge in full-year sales.

The chain, which delivers one in every five pizzas to UK homes, said it wanted to boost the number of outlets from 237 to 500 and increase its output from one million households last year to 2.5 million by 2006. The Milton Keynes-based group went on an advertising offensive last year, introducing television adverts as well as continuing with its sponsorship of the cartoon series The Simpsons on Sky One.

Stephen Hemsley, chief executive of Domino's, said the company would boost its brand recognition further this year by increasing its advertising budget from £4m to £5m.

Several interactive television deals will kick in this year. These include a presence on Sky Digital as a pizza delivery service which is accessible through a special button on customers' remote controls and even the possibility that a person's order could be memorised and delivered at the touch of a button. Mr Hemsley said: "We refitted our stores to handle more business and backed that up with more TV advertising, which meant our like-for-like sales increased by more than 20 per cent, which was way above our expectations."

The opening of 24 new outlets helped to boost pre-tax profits at Domino's, which rose 31 per cent to £3.9m in the 12 months to 30 December. More than 30 new stores are planned for this year. Most of the new stores will be in the North of England, where the chain is under represented compared to southern England and Scotland.

Domino's said trading since the start of 2002 continued to be strong, with like-for-like sales ahead 20 per cent on last year.

Its shares, listed on Aim, fell 4.5p to 73p, as investors took profits after the price hit an all-time high on Thursday.