Australia’s Domino’s served with class action on ‘misleading’ Japan market comments

(Reuters) -Australian pizza chain Domino’s Pizza (NYSE:) Enterprises said on Monday that it has been served a shareholder class action, which includes an allegation that it engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct around its expected performance in Japan.

The company’s shares fell 2.5% to A$29.18 to hit their lowest since late August.

The proceeding has been filed by Australian legal consultancy company Echo Law on behalf of Domino’s shareholders who scooped an interest in the firm by entering equity swap confirmation between Aug. 18, 2021 and Nov. 3, 2021.

Echo Law on its website said the class action was in relation to a Domino’s announcement made on Nov. 3, 2021.

Echo Law did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for additional comments.

Domino’s in a trading update in Nov. 2021 said its Japan operations recorded “excellent compounding sales” and added that new store openings in the country continued to remain strong.

“As a result of structural changes in marketing, pricing and store penetration, current sales and customer counts remain materially higher than corresponding period pre-COVID,” the pizza chain had said in 2021.

Domino’s shares had hit more than a nine-year low in July after analysts slashed their earnings outlook for the firm after it decided to close low-volume stores in both Japan and France.