Demand for pizzas in Russia and Turkey lifts DP Eurasia's profit

[ISTANBUL] EDP Eurasia, which operates the Domino's Pizza brand in Turkey and Russia, reported 28.9 per cent growth in annual core earnings on Tuesday helped by the expansion of its store network and rising like-for-like sales.

The company, which is Domino's fifth-largest master franchise, reported adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 96.8 million Turkish lira (S$32.39 million) for the full year, compared with 75.1 million lira a year before.

Its adjusted net profit, however, fell 39.4 per cent to 21.7 million lira, driven by foreign exchange losses of 11.7 million lira, DP Eurasia said.

The pizza delivery firm increased its like-for-like sales by 10 per cent in Turkey and 28.9 percent in Russia, driven by online orders, which accounted for more than half of all deliveries.

"We had a strong start to 2018 in line with our expectations, with like-for-like growth of 10.7 per cent and 25 per cent in Turkey and Russia," said Aslan Saranga, who has run the company since 1996.

The chain, backed by Turkish private equity group Turkven since 2010, opened two stores in the first two months of 2018 and said it is on track to meet its target for the year of 30 stores in Turkey and 40-60 in Russia.

The company raised its capital expenditure target for 2018 by 8 million lira in Turkey and 75 million roubles (S$1.71 million) in Russia, due to the depreciation of the lira against the dollar and the euro, and as it plans to spend more on IT, including a GPS tracker project.

REUTERS