16th Jan 2014 09:16
LONDON (Alliance News) - Ocado Group PLC said Thursday gross retail sales for the six trading weeks to January 4 2014 were up 21.3% to GBP111.1 million, with the online grocer benefiting from extra capacity and a strong Christmas trading period.
Ocado said consumers' increasing desire to shop online for their groceries has boosted its bottom line, also reporting a 20.1% increase in gross retail sales for the 16 weeks to December 1 2014, reaching GBP271.0 million, up from GBP225.7 million last year.
The Christmas trading period, which saw revenues jump to GBP111.1 million from GBP91.6 million in 2012, is a reflection of Ocado's extra capacity and strong trading in the seven days leading up to Christmas Day, said the company.
For the 52 weeks to December 1 2013, gross retail sales hit GBP843.0 million, up 17.2% from GBP719.0 million for 2012. Gross group sales were boosted to GBP852.5 million from GBP719.0 million, an 18.6% rise.
Average orders per week for the 16 weeks to December 1 2013 were up 19.1% to 151,743 from 127,434 last year. The average order size has marginally increased, up 0.8% to GBP111.60 from GBP110.7 in 2012.
Tim Steiner, Chief Executive Officer of Ocado, said, "We are pleased with the progress in our underlying trading reflecting the further improvements to our proposition to customers and consumers' increasing desire to shop online for their groceries.
"We exited 2013 with a strong Quarter 4 performance which continued into the start of 2014. The 7 days leading up to Christmas were particularly strong with sales up nearly 29%, and several days of over GBP5 million of sales, helped by the additional fulfilment capacity that we put in place during 2013," he said.
The launch of Ocado's partnership with Morrisons to act as delivery partner also commenced during the period, said Ocado. Morrisons.com, which was announced in November last year, launched successfully, with the first deliveries made on January 10 2014.
Looking ahead, Steiner said, "While we are encouraged by this current trading, the retail environment remains both challenging and competitive, with consumer sentiment subdued, and we expect to continue growing broadly in line with, or slightly ahead of, the market."
Shares in Ocado were trading down 2.40% at 508.5 pence per share Thursday morning, one of the biggest fallers on the FTSE 250.
By Alice Attwood; [email protected]; @AliceAtAlliance
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