Domino's Pizza has reported its strongest first-half sales performance across Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ) in six years off the back of new products, marketing and its Uber partnership.

The ASX-listed company firstly attributed the robust local performance to the launch of new products, including the Smokehouse range, My Domino's Box, and the Meltzz snacking option. It also claimed the pizza company ended 2023 as the fastest-growing pizza company in Australia, reaching new customers through non-traditional media and a global partnership with Uber.

Of further note were delivery orders, which it said have fully recovered following pricing missteps in response to inflationary pressures, helping to rebuild franchisee profitability.

Preliminary results for H1 2024 show same store A/NZ sales up by 8.2%, with network sales reaching $473 million, an increase of 8.1% compared to H1 2023 and 11.1% compared to the second half of 2023.

Yet the strong A/NZ result is in contrast to several other regional markets. For example, while Germany proved another strong market for operational performance, and Europe had a +0.6% increase in same store sales, plus an +11.5% increase in network sales between H1 24 and H1 23 at $857 million, financial gains have been offset by negative H1 Same Store Sales in Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia. Asian same store sales were down by 8.9%, with network sales reaching $539 million over the half, up by 5.8% on H1 2023 but down by 1% on H2 2023.

"Across the Group we are focused on delivering inspiring, new products that are great value," said Domino's Group CEO & Managing Director, Don Meij. He also highlighted the company's mission to become 'The Dominant Sustainable Delivery QSR in every market by 2030', and noted delivery growth has been the biggest engine room in most markets.

"This has been led by Australia/New Zealand where customers are rewarding us with more frequent orders and a higher ticket and, as a result, the business improvement has been fastest. Many of the same approaches are showing positive signs in Europe," Meij added.

Domino's is implementing a program to optimise the business, with material savings, improved efficiency, and reinvestment into improving Franchisee Partner economics. The company's H1 preliminary Net Profit Before Tax (NPBT) is expected to be between $87-90m, lower than H1 2023 ($104.8m), but higher than the preceding half (H2 23, $74.4m). The Group's Net Debt decreased by $68.7m to $770.0m at H1 2024 due to savings initiatives and tighter management of capital expenditure.

"Our Franchisee partners in A/NZ and Europe are improving average unit economics but there is more work to do, and this will remain an ongoing focus in all markets into the 2025 Financial Year," Meij concluded.