Ocado to invest an extra £30 million in technology to meet surging demand for online shopping

Ocado has pledged to invest an extra £30 million in technology to meet surging demand for online shopping during the pandemic, as it revealed annual earnings had jumped.
The online grocer saw underlying earnings for its retail arm more than treble to £148.5 million for the year to November 29, up from £40.6 million the previous year.The online grocer saw underlying earnings for its retail arm more than treble to £148.5 million for the year to November 29, up from £40.6 million the previous year.
The online grocer saw underlying earnings for its retail arm more than treble to £148.5 million for the year to November 29, up from £40.6 million the previous year.

The online grocer saw underlying earnings for its retail arm more than treble to £148.5 million for the year to November 29, up from £40.6 million the previous year.

Group earnings, including its international business and UK solutions and logistics division – which provides services to the Ocado and M&S joint venture, alongside a contract with Morrisons – rose 68.8% to £73.1 million.

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On a bottom-line basis, it narrowed pre-tax losses to £44 million from £214.5 million as retail revenues raced 35.3% higher over the year.

It said it would keep spending on IT and its platforms, but cautioned retail sales growth over the current year would depend on Covid-19 restrictions.

Tim Steiner, chief executive of Ocado, said: “The rapid acceleration of many pre-existing trends in business and society has been a feature of the Covid-19 crisis and the dramatic channel shift in grocery is a clear example of this.

“The landscape for food retailing is changing, for good.”

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