Ms Heyman will leave her position as chief executive officer of the division in August, after 37 years with Domino’s, in roles which covered Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

She said the decision represented an important move for herself and the pizza giant.

“Working with Domino’s has given me some of the most rewarding experiences of my life — both professionally and personally — and I’ve developed lifelong friendships with passionate pizza people around the world,” he said.

“Since returning to Australia in 2023, I’ve been proud of the work we’ve done to strengthenoperations — from improving product quality and growing new occasions like lunch, todelivering stronger sales and profits for our franchise partners.

“Domino’s is now entering a new chapter, with a clear ‘Recipe for Growth’ in place forAustralia and New Zealand. With the business well positioned for the future, I feel confidentthis is the right time for me to open a new chapter of my own.”

Former franchise partner Greg Steenson has been appointed to the role of chief operating officer, Australia, effective immediately.

Domino’s has been trading at $25.20 per share.

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The company’s group earnings before interest and tax was $100.6 million for the half year ending December 2024 – a fall of 6.7% from the prior period.

In regional performances, earnings from stores in Asia were down 19% to $17M while European earnings were 11.1% lower, at $32.3M; particular concerns were raised about store underperformance in France and Japan.

By contrast, Australia was where demand lay with $67.7M in earnings – a 7.6% lift.

Dominos also recently announced the closing of 205 loss-making stores as part of a company-wide review to improve performances.

Following this, the company set its interim dividend at 55.5cps unfranked.

“At our recent trading update, we announced the first outcomes of a detailed operational and financial review to create a simpler and better Domino’s, including taking decisive actions to close loss-making stores and deliver savings to reinvest in growth,” CEO and managing director Mark van Dyck said.

“Those steps were the first in a comprehensive business review, which is ongoing, designedto improve profitability, strengthen franchise partnerships, and position the business for long-term sustainable growth and improved shareholder returns.

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“Cost control plus sales growth is a powerful equation in our business: our model deliversgreat leverage for stores as they build sales but we know there is more work to be done.”

Dominos shares fell after the news, and at 12:19 AEDT, they were trading at $28.54 – a drop of 11.56% since the market opened.

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On Friday, Domino’s shares shot up by more than 21% after the company announced it would be closing a total of 205 loss-making stores – the majority (172) of these in Japan – per a ‘comprehensive strategy review’ which in terms of that country alone, was expected to yield $15.5 million in estimated annualised savings from store closures and accelerated refranchising.

The group-wide review revolves around two main points: Achieving cost efficiency by simplifying the store network and cost base and strategic growth through a ‘value creation plan’ to push long-term value.

(This immediate regional focus will extend as far as France.)

This move is both a key step for van Dyke – who replaced longstanding chief Don Meiji in November 2024 – as well as a reflection of previous initiatives to boost Domino’s fortunes, including a strategic review launched in June 2023 which had prompted the closure of all 27 stores in Denmark by year’s end.

When Domino’s announced its final year results for the 2024 fiscal year, investors were informed the Danish closures had delivered the $12 million boost to EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) which had been predicted.

The review launched in 2023 had also intended to “deliver material, near-term, cost savings, improving efficiency” through a reduction in Domino’s corporate store network – in which around 65 to 70 underperforming corporate-owned stores would be closed – plus an accelerated refranchising process.

As part of the latter, experienced franchisees would be brought in to facilitate the franchising of between 70 and 75 corporate stores earmarked as being in “turnaround.”

Taken together, the initiatives rolled out after this review ended up delivering $50.2M worth of savings for the company in FY24, in line with an expected savings range of between $50 million and $60 million.

The FY24 results also show the Australia/New Zealand market was the strongest across Domino’s portfolio, with a record underlying EBIT of $124.1 million (up 10.4% from the previous year).

Europe recorded EBIT growth of 338% (reaching $70.7M), leaving weaknesses in the Asian market, which was down by 28.7% (to $42.9M).

The latter was explained regarding external tensions, including geopolitical tensions surrounding Malaysia.

That said, Domino’s recent attention to Japan mainly sought to address the struggle of stores that had opened during the COVID-19 era – which had brought on a large number of sales – but had not maintained that momentum since the pandemic.

Of the stores to close in this country, 58 are franchised, and 114 are corporate, and are largely in sub-scale prefectures.

Mr van Dyke said these steps showed Domino’s was willing to act quickly to address areas of weakness. He said: “When I started in this role three months ago I said we would move decisively to reshape our business for long-term success.”

“Where change is required, we are acting quickly and transparently. Our priority remains clear—creating value for customers, franchise partners, and shareholders.”

At close, Domino’s traded at $35.82 – a rise of 20.93% since the market opened.

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Mr Meij has been with the company for 40 years in total, holding the top job of CEO for 22 of these. He’ll continue to work with the Board and Mr van Dyck for the next 12 months to guide in the corporate transition.

He started the business in Brisbane, guiding it to become a global player. Domino’s listed in 2005 with 387 stores and sales of $300 million.

The search for a new Domino’s CEO was a global one, and Mr van Dyck’s experience is also international: Before this, he was on the executive board of British multinational food services company Compass Group, which has a market capitalisation of $79 billion and operations in 33 countries.

There, he worked as regional managing director in the Asia Pacific overseeing 66,000 employees in 11 countries; responsible for serving 400 million meals per year.

Domino’s chairman Jack Cowin said he wanted to thank Mr Meij for his achievements with the company.

“Under his leadership Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd grew from a Brisbane-based company to a truly global business – the market-leader in each of the markets the company has operated for more than three years in Europe and the Asia-Pacific,” he said.

“Don has done an exceptional job of delivering positive outcomes for all our stakeholders, including franchise partners, shareholders and employees. He leaves an impressive legacy.”

Domino’s also reported a trading update for its first 17 weeks of trade in FY25, saying that Group SSS (same store sales) had fallen 1.2% compared to the prior period.

The company saw its shares move down following the news, and at 13:29 AEDT, they were trading at $31.26 – a fall of 7.27% since the market opened.

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