News: DMP UPDATE 1-Australia's Domino's Pizza profit slumps on price hikes; shares tank

(Adds details on dividend, shares, CEO quote)

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Australia's Domino's Pizza Enterprises (DMP) reported a 28.3% fall in first-half profit on Wednesday, hurt by a drop in orders as price rises due to inflation affected consumer spending, sending its shares 24.3% lower to post a record drop.

"Given the challenging conditions and the effect on our franchisees, we felt it was necessary to lift prices, including applying some surcharge," Chief Executive Officer Don Meji said.

The pizza chain also cut its interim dividend by 24% to 67.4 Australian cents per share.

The 3,736 store renowned global franchise said that sales growth in the second half has slowed down faster than anticipated due to a fall in repeat purchases from consumers as the company hiked its prices to combat surging inflation.

The Australian franchise of Domino's says its first-half profit attributable for the period ended Jan. 1 came in at A$63.9 million ($47.08 million), compared with A$89.1 million a year ago.

The company posted a revenue of A$1.15 billion, a 4.3% drop from the previous year. ($1 = 1.4635 Australian dollars)