Domino’s Pizza Group disclosed a decline in Q3 meal deliveries as customers curtailed orders due to rising living costs. Although like-for-like system sales saw a 3.7% increase, total orders dropped by 1.2% to 16.7 million, resulting in a morning trade stock share decrease of up to 6.7%. To cope with heightened expenses, the group raised product prices, but customers, impacted by interest rate hikes and a sluggish economy, trimmed discretionary spending. CEO Andrew Rennie, looking ahead, foresees stabilized inflation and emphasizes a focus on sustained customer and order growth, along with franchisee profitability. The company, a franchisee of U.S.-based Domino’s Pizza Inc (NYSE:DPZ), anticipates a return to order growth in Q4, reaffirming its underlying core profit outlook of £132 million to £138 million for the year. Despite challenges in the delivery segment, both Domino’s Pizza Group and its U.S.-based parent company navigate the landscape, with the FTSE 250 index constituent’s shares down 6.1% to 348 pence at 0920 GMT, reflecting a 0.3% decline in the index.
