10:23 AM EDT, 04/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Domino's Pizza (DPZ) on Monday reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings, as the pizza restaurant chain benefitted from higher delivery and pickup orders in the US.

The company's earnings came in at $3.58 per share for the quarter ended March 24, up from $2.93 the year before, topping the Capital IQ-polled consensus of $3.40. Total revenue rose 5.9% to $1.08 billion, largely in line with the Street's view. The stock gained 2.4% in Monday trading.

Higher order volumes and US franchise royalties and fees, as well as increased US company-owned store revenue, boosted the overall topline. The pizza chain's market basket pricing to stores decreased 1.9% on an annual basis.

"We drove strong comp performance in the US that flowed through to the bottom line with double-digit profit growth," Chief Executive Russell Weiner said during a conference call, according to a Capital IQ transcript. "And our growth in the US came through positive order counts across all income cohorts in both our carryout and delivery segment."

US same-store sales advanced 5.6% while international operations, excluding the impact of foreign exchange, edged up 0.9%. "The increase in US same-store sales was driven by transaction growth from our new loyalty program," Chief Financial Officer Sandeep Reddy said on the call. "We also benefited from 0.9% of pricing and a 1.4% sales mix from Uber (UBER)."

Domino's signed an agreement with Uber in July 2023 to allow US customers to place orders on the ride-sharing company's Uber Eats and Postmates apps.

Domino's saw global net growth of 164 stores in the quarter, with 20 openings in the US and 144 internationally. Global retail sales climbed 7.3% year-on-year, excluding foreign-currency headwinds.

The company continues to expect to achieve its previously disclosed targets for the 2024 to 2028 period. These include annual global retail sales gains of more than 7% and more than 8% growth in annual income from operations.

For the ongoing three-month period, the pizza chain anticipates comparable sales in the US to be "slightly below" the prior quarter on a one-year basis, "as the emergency pizza promotion rolls off, partially offset by a ramp in Uber," according to Reddy.

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