(Reuters) -Britain’s Domino’s Pizza Group lowered its annual core profit forecast on Tuesday, as an increase in employment costs compounded troubles for the fast-food chain already reeling from weak customer demand.
The group, which operates under the umbrella of U.S.-based Domino’s Pizza in the UK and Ireland, saw lower-than-expected store openings in the first half of the year, as its franchisees were wary of opening new stores amid higher staffing costs.
“There’s no getting away from the fact that the market has become tougher both for us and our franchisees, and that’s meant that the positive performance across the first four months didn’t continue into May and June,” CEO Andrew Rennie said in a statement.
Britons are also choosing to stay in, rather than dine out, as firms pass on higher costs to customers by raising prices.
Domino’s Pizza Group expects underlying core profit between 130 million pounds and 140 million pounds ($172.72 million -$186.00 million) for 2025.
It previously expected to meet market expectations of 140.8 million to 149.7 million pounds.
($1 = 0.7527 pounds)
(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
