Ocado Retail Ltd, a joint venture between Ocado Group (LON:OCDO) and Marks & Spencer Group (LON:MKS), has announced its trading statement for the 13 weeks to 1 December 2019.
Highlights
● Growth in Retail Revenue of 10.8%, in line with our guidance
● Growth in Average orders per week of 10.4%
● Average order size stable
● Range review completed, confirming that M&S has substitutes at the same price or lower, and of the same quality or better, for the majority of those currently supplied by Waitrose (which represent just over 4,000 products out of the current total range of over 55,000). We also anticipate adding many more additional M&S lines to the range
● Erith CFC continues to ramp and ended the period at over 70,000 orders per week with efficiency better than Hatfield CFC
Key financials
| 13 weeks to1 December 2019 | 13 weeks to2 December 2018 | Growth4 | |
| Retail Revenue1 | £429.1m | £387.2m | 10.8% |
| Average orders per week2 | 350,000 | 317,000 | 10.4% |
| Average order size3 | £104.9 | £104.9 | – |
Ocado Group, on behalf of the joint-venture, will be hosting an analyst conference call at 7.30am today. Dial in details are 08003589473 (toll-free), +44 3333000804 (toll), participant pin code 99409078#. A replay facility can be accessed on 0800 358 2049, with the following conference pin required: 301306512# for 90 days following the announcement.
Future event
Ocado Group will be hosting a seminar on IFRS 16 and other accounting topics on 22nd January 2020, 2-3.30pm. The event will be webcast.
Notes
1. Retail revenue comprises revenues from Ocado.com, Fetch, and Ocado Zoom.
2. Average orders per week refers to results of Ocado.com and Fetch.
3. Average order size refers to results of Ocado.com and Fetch.
4. Growth percentage calculated on a rounded basis.
5. The figures used in this announcement are unaudited.
6. A copy of this trading update is available on www.ocadogroup.com and www.corporate.marksandspencer.com.
Melanie Smith, Ocado Retail’s Chief Executive Officer, said:
“I am pleased to report further progress in bringing the Ocado offer to an ever increasing number of customers in the U.K. Another strong quarter for customer orders means that we remain the fastest growing grocer in the country. The collaboration between M&S and Ocado Group is working well.
We have made good progress preparing for switchover date in September 2020, when the M&S food range will be available online for the first time. We are also planning fresh capacity, to offer customers more availability, and have new customer fulfilment facilities in Bristol and Purfleet, and a rebuilt state of the art facility at Andover, on the way. As a team, we could not be more excited”.
