Irish sales of Domino's Pizza rose by a third in the first half of this year, as demand for its takeaway and home-delivery foods increased.

Sales at Domino's 24 Irish stores rose to £4 million (€5.8 million) in the 26 weeks ended July 3rd, from £3 million in the year-earlier period. Irish sales now account for almost 10 per cent of the group's total sales.

Across the UK and Ireland, sales rose 17 per cent to £40.5 million, while profit after tax increased 40 per cent to £4.1 million. The company did not break down profit figures for Ireland.

Domino's opened 23 new stores in the period, bringing its total to 380 stores across the UK and Ireland. Stephen Hemsley, the group's chief executive, said he is aiming to have as many as 1,000 stores across the two countries within the next 10 years.

Like-for-like sales increased by 8.4 per cent, boosted by the introduction of new productsand the increased use of the internet to order home deliveries, Mr Hemsley said.

E-commerce sales rose by 64 per cent in the period, and now account for £6.5 million of the group's total sales.

During the period, the company also sold 13 corporate stores, generating an exceptional profit of £800,000.