Domino’s Pizza Group announced in a third quarter trading update on Thursday that it will end its international operations.
Shares in the pizza delivery chain (LON:DOM) were up during trading on Thursday morning.
It said that though the financial results have stabilised, international system sales remain “disappointing”.
“Although the financial results have stabilised, the performance of our international business remains disappointing,” David Wild, Chief Executive Officer, commented in a third quarter trading update.
“Over the past six weeks we have completed a review with external consultants, assessing each of our four international markets and the future prospects for our businesses,” the Chief Executive Officer continued.
David Wild said that the company has “concluded that, whilst they represent attractive markets, we are not the best owners of these businesses.
Domino’s Pizza will therefore “exit the markets in an orderly manner”.
The pizza delivery chain, which posted a 3.4% rise in group system sales, added that 12 stores opened in the UK and ROI in the third quarter.
UK online sales were up by 7.2%, whilst ROI online sales increased by 9.9%. Domino’s Pizza said that online now makes up 90.9% of delivery sales.
The company is continuing to sear for a new CEO, it added. Meanwhile, a search process for the new chair has started.
The Chief Executive Officer said that the businesses “delivered a solid performance in our core UK and Ireland markets, with system sales up 3.9%, against a market backdrop that remains challenging”.
“Normal working practices continue to be impacted by our franchisee dispute. As we said at our interim results, this situation is complex and we expect a resolution to take time, certainly into 2020.”
Earlier this year in August, it was revealed that Domino’s Pizza had spent £7 million to stockpile ingredients in the event that a no deal departure from the European Union disrupts its supplies.
Shares in Domino’s Pizza Group plc (LON:DOM) were trading at +3.7% as of 10:16 BST Thursday.
