Domino's chief upbeat despite slip in growth

Lance Batchelor, the new chief executive of Domino's Pizza UK, is "confident" about the group's prospects for the year ahead, despite a sharp slowdown in its fourth-quarter sales growth.

Shares in the group, which operates 726 outlets in the UK and Ireland, soared by more than 6% after analysts concluded its update was "as good as could be expected", given the dire consumer spending environment.

Like-for-like sales grew 3.6% over the 13 weeks to 25 December, marginally lower than its third quarter and nearly two thirds down on the 10.3% rise in the same period last year. Batchelor, former head of Tesco Mobile, said: "I come into the new year with confidence and optimism."

Domino's added 26.2p to 440p. Full-year profits were in line with City forecasts of £42.2 million.

Total sales rose 9.5% to £145 million, boosted by online and mobile sales. It said online sales "frequently top the £1 million mark in a single day".