Domino's oven go-slow and cheap cheese trigger profit rise

As Mary Berry would probably tell you, a good bake is all in the timing, and it seems Domino’s Pizza is taking notice.

The UK’s biggest pizza deliveries service revealed it had slowed down the speed of its ovens as some managers were a little too enthusiastic in shipping out pizzas to their customers.

Chief executive David Wild explained: “There’s an optimum time for cooking a pizza.

“It’s a bit technical and to do with the rise of the dough, but some of our franchisees were cooking a bit too quickly.”

The slowed-down ovens had the desired effect, as sales at the 869-strong chain jumped 15.8% to £877.2 million.

Sales in the UK were up 11.7% on a like-for-like basis and pre-tax profits rose 17.8% to £73.2 million.

Lower cheese and dough prices also helped profits rise, as franchisees were handed £11 million in savings from the cheap cheese.