18th Sep 2018 08:03
LONDON (Alliance News) - Online grocer Ocado Group PLC said Tuesday that its retail revenue rose in the third quarter, boosted by increased capacity at two of the company's robotic warehouses.
For the 13 weeks to September 2, the FTSE 100 constituent said retail revenue increased 12% to GBP348.6 million from GBP312.7 million a year ago.
The revenue jump was mainly due to the increased capacity from the company's robotic third and fourth warehouses of Andover, in Hampshire, and Erith, in south-east London.
"The new capacity from Andover and Erith, our robotic third and fourth warehouses, is helping meet consumer demand for our services and drive the channel shift which is transforming grocery retailing in the UK," Chief Executive Officer Tim Steiner said.
Erith Customer Fulfilment Centre opened this past summer "on time and budget", Steiner added. At full capacity it will be the largest automated warehouse for online grocery in the world.
Within 14 weeks from opening, Erith processed over 20,000 customer orders, "a number which took Andover 15 months to achieve", Steiner explained.
Average orders per week also jumped 11% to 283,000 compared to 254,000 a year ago, with the average customer spending GBP106.26 per order, flat on last year's GBP106.25.
At the end of the third quarter, Ocado had GBP406.1 million in cash and borrowings amounting to GBP281.2 million.
Looking ahead, the grocer said it is on track to deliver a "significant number" of new automated warehouses to its partners and "as such are fulfilling our goal of changing the way the world shops".
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