Domino's knocks the spots off the recession thanks to TV diners

Domino's, Britain's biggest pizza delivery business, is confident it can serve up another set of hearty full-year numbers after hit TV shows such as Strictly Come Dancing kept customers glued to their seats at home.

The company said popular Saturday night TV shows, such as Strictly and X-Factor, helped lift sales by 10.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis in the 13 weeks to Boxing Day as more people stayed in and ordered pizza.

The strong finish to the year means that annual pre-tax profits are set to beat market forecasts.

Offers such as a buy-one-get-one free deal on Tuesdays and its "one two free" deal on a large pizza, such as its Mighty Meaty, plus side orders of garlic mozzarella sticks and other items had proved popular, the company said.

The group, which operates the UK and Irish franchises of the global delivery brand, has excelled through challenging economic conditions as cash-strapped consumers opt to stay in and order takeaways rather than eating out.

Chief executive Chris Moore said: "We have again finished the year with a like-for-like sales performance that is ahead of expectations and, together with the improvements in our operational gearing, the company will deliver 2010 profits ahead of current City expectations."

Paul Hickman, an analyst at brokerage Peel Hunt, which has a "buy" rating on the shares, said: "Not even mentioning snow, Domino's has had a storming Q4. This company is one of the best managed marketing-led operations in the UK today and a core holding for any consumer-facing investment portfolio."

That view was echoed by The Share Centre, which is also advising investors to grab a slice of the pizza firm.

Investment adviser Nick Raynor said: "2010 turned out to be a tremendous year for Domino's Pizza and we feel there is more to come in 2011 for investors seeking growth."

Peel Hunt lifted its 2010 pre-tax profit forecast by 3 per cent to 37.8 million, while Altium Securities raised its full-year estimate to 37.7m from 36.5m previously.

Domino's said total sales increased by 17.8 per cent in the fourth quarter to 132.5m.For the year as a whole, they were up 19.2 per cent to 485.3m.

The company's online business grew sales over the year by 63 per cent to 128m, boosted by the introduction of an iPhone ordering app, and increased promotional activity on social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter.

The strong performance came despite heavy snowfall across much of Britain in the last week of November and the whole of December.Domino's, which opened 57 stores over the year and has 665 outlets, also enjoyed bumper summer sales driven by demand from World Cup fans and viewers of ITV show Britain's Got Talent, which the pizza group has sponsored for three successive years.

A spokeswoman for the firm said any major TV events were good for business - X-Factor drew almost 20 million viewers earlier this month - as they kept people at home.

Moore added: "It's fantastic to be reflecting on another incredible year of growth - especially as 2010 saw Domino's celebrating 25 years in the UK.

"We have set ourselves some challenging targets to beat in the coming year."

Preliminary results are due from the company on 15 February.