Domino's Pizza reveals 43% online sales growth in the UK for 2011

The company has also launched in Germany, meaning a pre-tax loss of £1.4m, with 62 new stores opening in total last year, and three closing – resulting in a total of 726 stores still operating at the end of 2011.

Lance Batchelor, CEO of Domino’s Pizza Group, said: "I am pleased, in my first full results announcement, to be able to report a good set of figures. It has been a busy year for Domino's with an increase in system sales of 9.3% to £530.6m (2010: £485.3m), the launch of our new operations in Germany and the opening of a record 62 new stores. Our strong operational gearing has also driven operating margins2, pre-Germany, to 20.9% (2010: 20.2%) and diluted earnings per share2, pre-Germany, is up 18.6% to 19.86p.

"Trading has continued to be robust during the first seven weeks of 2012 with like-for-like sales for the Group increasing by 3.7%.The UK stores are up 3.8% and, encouragingly, the stores in the Republic of Ireland are in positive territory, up 2.3% for the first time in three years. The consumer backdrop remains a tough one, but with record store openings and continuing appetite from our franchisees, we remain confident of the Group's ability to drive both sales and profits going forward.

"We are delighted by the enthusiasm of some of our best UK franchisees with regards to the franchise opportunity in Germany and we are confident that our franchising model in this market will commence during 2012.

"I am excited and optimistic about the future and, with the support of our franchisees, we will continue to grow this outstanding business by focusing on opening new stores, testing new store formats and developing new products while always ensuring the customer is at the heart of everything we do."