Profits rise at Ocado
Online supermarket Ocado has seen its full year revenue increase by 14.8% to £1.27 billion as revenue from retail activities rose by 13.3%.
In the 52 weeks to 27 November, pre-tax profit edged up 1.3% to £12.1 million. Profit before tax and exceptional items climbed by 14.8% to £14.5 million.
The company said the revenue growth was driven by a 17.9% year-on-year increase in the full year average orders per week to 230,000. Product sales from the retailer’s general merchandise destination sites climbed by over 85% as trade was boosted by the popularity of its Fetch pet store and the launch its new beauty destination site, Fabled, during the second half of the period.
The increase in order growth was partially offset by a reduction in average hypermarket order size, which was down 2.7% from £111.15 in 2015 to £108.10 in 2016. This was primarily due to deflation in the average item price.
Tim Steiner, chief executive Officer of Ocado, said: “We are pleased to announce results today which reflect robust trading in our core business and shows continued progress against our strategic objectives in what has been a challenging retail environment.
“We commenced operations at our new customer fulfilment centre in Andover, which has the first installation of our new proprietary technology. At the same time, we have made good progress in improving the efficiency and throughput of our existing operations, increasing our capacity from existing facilities by over 20,000 weekly orders. These developments position us well for future growth, whilst improving our returns and enhancing the service we can offer our customers.”
The company said mobile has continued to grow in significance with over 55% of all orders at Ocado being checked out using its latest apps and browsers on mobile devices.
