Pizza Express sales rise in the first half

Pizza Express has reported higher sales in the first half of the year, with sales in the 26 weeks to 30 June rose by 2.6% and like-for-like sales were up by 0.2%.

Underlying earnings for the pizza retailer were down by 7.7% to £32.4m, due to rising costs in the UK, while total sales were up by 0.5% with a drop of like-for-likes by 0.2%.

Chairman and chief executive Jinlong Wang said, “We are taking a measured approach to growing our business in the UK and Ireland, and in the first half we opened a net two new sites.

“We are now planning to focus our capital investment on upgrading our existing estate rather than adding more sites.”

Wang added, “Throughout the first half of this year we have continued to invest in our brand proposition, develop new formats and maximise operational efficiencies,” said Mr Wang.

“In China for example, to appeal to changing consumer demands we recently launched a refreshed menu, reinforcing our differentiated offering and highlighting that pizza is at the very heart of our business.”