2nd Feb 2016 07:49
LONDON (Alliance News) - Ocado Group PLC on Tuesday reported growth in profit in its recently ended financial year, as revenue was boosted by an increase in order volumes and active customers, despite the challenges posed by deflation in the average price of items across the UK grocery market.
The online grocery delivery service said its pretax profit in the year ended November 29 grew to GBP11.9 million from GBP7.2 million the year before, as revenue rose 17% to GBP1.10 billion from GBP948.9 million.
During the year, order volumes grew by 17% to an average of over 195,000 orders per week, Ocado said, while the number of active customers increased by 12% to 509,000. The average basket value declined, however, by 2.1% to GBP109.95, which Ocado said was hit by price deflation in the grocery market as a whole.
Meanwhile, its partnership with big four grocer Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC is "progressing well", with sales reaching around GBP200 million after 12 months of trading and continued growth since.
Ocado added that it expects to sign "multiple deals in multiple territories" in the medium term for its international offering through Ocado Smart Platform. "Despite not signing a first deal in 2015, discussions with multiple potential international partners to adopt the Ocado Smart Platform solution continue and our confidence in signing a deal remains high," the company said.
"We are transforming the shopping experience for the benefit of our customers in the UK, and expect to do so for customers in other countries through Ocado Smart Platform. We look forward to making further progress over the current financial year," Chief Executive Tim Steiner said in a statement.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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