Ocado up on year-end results

FTSE 100 grocery delivery firm Ocado (LON:OCDO) saw its share price increase by 1.07% to 1,230p (as of 13:55 GMT) after retail revenues climbed by 10.3% during the year ended 1st December. However, the pre-tax loss widened significantly due to the fire at the Andover facility, the cost of share schemes and a change in accounting standards.

CEO Tim Steiner commented: “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.

“Our progress over the last twelve months, which includes signing our eighth and ninth Solutions clients, Coles in Australia and Aeon in Japan, and successfully maintaining strong growth post-Andover, has demonstrated many of Ocado Group’s most important characteristics: resilience, innovation, focus and execution. It is these qualities that will enable us to continue to develop the Ocado Smart Platform to meet the evolving needs of our partners at the cutting edge of online grocery retail“.