Profit surge: How Dominos sliced off a bigger piece of the pizza pie

is committed to rapid expansion. Photo / 123RF

Domino's half-year net profit surged to A$71 million after the pizza chain sliced off a bigger piece of the local and international market.

The Australian-based division has rapidly expanded its local and international store network from 780 stores to more than 2600 over the decade, with 85 new store openings globally, allowing it to lift its profit by 34 per cent in the six months to December 29.

The rapid growth in store locations has allowed the chain to better access communities and ensure waiting times are reduced, chief executive Don Meij said.

"This half particularly reinforced to us the importance of value to today's consumer – high quality food, at an affordable price, served quickly and safely," he said.

"Where we have delivered on this expectation, we have seen strong, profitable growth for our franchisees and business."

And it doesn't plan to stop there.

The fast food chain said it will stick to a plan of expanding its network by up to 10 per cent each year for up to five more years.

"The future of our business, and the wider quick service restaurant (QSR) industry, is delivered food ordered online," Mr Meij said.

"We have the expertise and are building the store footprint to capture this opportunity."

The locally run company now operates the extensive store network in nine countries, with a large presence in Australia, Japan, France and the rest of Europe.

"Our focus is fixed firmly on the long-term, and we are demonstrating we will make decisions for our business that are for the long-term benefit of our customers, franchisee business partners, investors, and our communities," Mr Meij said.

The company's Australia and New Zealand arm lifted revenue from continuing operations by A$137.1 million to A$343 million for the six-month period to December 29, with global revenue rising to A$905.7 million from A$702 million a year ago.

Global food sales increased by A$151.3 million to A$1.58 billion, up 10.6 per cent on the prior year, and 4.1 per cent growth on a same store sales basis.

International operations performance was supported by a record number of new store openings across the group, 85 stores, led by 42 new stores in Japan and 12 in France.

The local arm did however pay A$1.1 million in legal fees after former employees launched a class action alleging they were deliberately underpaid.

Domino's fully franked interim dividend of 66.7 cents per share is up from the previous interim payout of 62.7 cents, 75 per cent franked.