Ocado upbeat despite losses
Ocado increased its revenue by 9.9% to £1.76 billion in the year to 31 December despite disruption caused by a fire at the retailer’s Andover customer fulfilment centre.
Fees invoiced to the online grocer’s international solutions partners rose by over 38% to £81.4 million while retail revenue climbed by 10.3%.
However, the company made a pre-tax loss of £214.5 million after profitability was impacted by international investments in its platform, costs relating to its new customer fulfilment centre in Erith, share-based management incentive charges, and additional depreciation. The retailer also incurred £94.1 million in exceptional costs which were mainly a result of the Andover fire.
Tim Steiner, chief executive of Ocado, said: “We are pleased to report results which show strong momentum in the business. Although statutory results reflected a combination of factors, including the impact of the Andover fire, the underlying performance of Ocado Retail and the successful growth of Ocado Solutions were very encouraging.”
