Ocado has delivered a healthy uplift in sales in its fourth quarter bolstered by improved capabilities of its tech-driven Andover fulfilment centre.
The grocery etailer posted an 11.6% increase in retail revenue year-on-year to £373.8m in the 14 weeks to December 3.
The retailer’s results were bolstered by an 11.1% rise in the average amount of orders per week to 280,000, which offset a 0.3% dip in the average basket value of £106.11.
Ocado’s technology enabled Andover distribution centre processed 50% more orders in the last few weeks of the financial period than it did at the beginning of it.
By contrast, the online grocer’s sales growth was hampered by a lack of available delivery drivers in certain locations.
The retailer said that although the issue has been “largely resolved, there was some short-term impact on average orders per week over the period.”
Ocado forged a partnership with French grocery titan Casino earlier this month.
Chief executive Tim Steiner said: “We are delighted that Groupe Casino chose to partner with Ocado Solutions to develop its online food business and we remain confident in our ability to sign more deals such as this in the medium term.
We are also encouraged by the progress we have made ramping up capacity at our revolutionary customer fulfilment centre in Andover which has supported further growth in our retail business in the UK.
“We continue to work towards the opening of our fourth customer fulfilment centre in Erith, South East London, in 2018.
“At scale, Erith will be able to process an additional 200,000 orders per week. Building scale and capacity in the UK will support the sustainable growth of our retail business, enabling us to take further market share in online grocery, and we look forward to the coming year with confidence.”
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