FILE PHOTO: A person walks past a Domino's pizza restuarant in London, Britain, March 4, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo

By Roshan Thomas and Rajasik Mukherjee

(Reuters) -Domino's Pizza Enterprises posted its first annual loss on Wednesday since going public two decades ago, triggering a 21% share slump, the steepest decline in nearly two months for the Australian pizza chain operator.

Domino's Pizza Enterprises, the largest master franchise of the U.S.-based Domino's Pizza, has undergone management changes across its Australia, New Zealand, and Asia operations, with the latest being the planned departure of CEO and Managing Director Mark van Dyck before Christmas.

Now spearheaded by Executive Chair Jack Cowin, the company reported an annual loss of A$3.7 million ($2.40 million), a sharp decline from the profit of A$96 million recorded last year, and also missed a Visible Alpha consensus of A$14.5 million profit.

Shares of the company slumped to A$15.28, marking their lowest point since July 2. As of 0444 GMT, the stock was the worst performer in the broader ASX 200 benchmark index, which was up 0.1%.

The pizza chain operator rose to prominence in 2021 as the pandemic lifted demand for deliveries, but has since struggled with rising costs, intense competition from delivery platforms, and the emergence of rivals such as Sydney-listed burrito chain Guzman y Gomez, all while facing pressure to expand aggressively overseas.

The company has also been hit hard by ongoing weak performance in two of its key markets, Japan and France, with store closures in the latter significantly impacting its bottom line.

Waning post-pandemic demand and rising input costs in Japan further squeezed its profit in one of its biggest markets.

Earlier this year, the pizza chain operator closed 233 loss-making stores in the East Asian country.

"Management changes, failure to gain meaningful market share in key regions such as Japan and Germany, and uncertainty around increased discounts and pricing sparked investor concerns over the strategic direction of Australia's largest pizza player," said Grady Wulff, senior market analyst at Bell Direct.

The company also warned of a bleak start to the new financial year, with like-for-like sales declining 0.9% in the first seven weeks, in sharp contrast with the growth expectations of 3.1% in the first six months of the year.

Domino's Pizza Enterprises declared a final dividend of 21.5 Australian cents per share.

($1 = 1.5389 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Roshan Thomas and Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)