- Average orders of 414,000 per week grew 8.4%
- Average basket value up 2.1%, basket size stable
- Ocado shares down 37% year-to-date
Shares in Ocado (OCDO) were marginally higher at 463p this morning as the online grocer reported a 10.6% rise in revenue for its Ocado Retail joint venture to £645.23 million for the 13 weeks to 3rd March 2024
Average orders per week of 414,000 grew 8.4% compared with the first quarter of 2023, reflecting strong growth in active customers, up 6.4% to 1.02 million at the end of the quarter.
The 50-50 joint venture between Ocado and Marks & Spencer (MKS) added that total item volumes grew 8.1% year-on-year.
GROWING MARKET SHARE
According to the latest Kantar Worldpanel Grocery Market Share figures, Ocado was the fastest growing retailer this month.
The retailer improved sales by 9.5% in the latest 12 weeks benefiting from a sustained voucher campaign which helped attract customers (ahead of the total online market which rose by 6.6%, to account for 1.9% of all take-home sales).
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell said: ‘This positive trading comes after a long period of disappointing performance, and you can understand Marks & Spencer’s frustration – when it agreed the tie-up with Ocado in 2019 it set targets which have subsequently not been met.
‘Ocado has threatened legal action over an outstanding, performance-dependent instalment in the £750 million agreement. Its chief executive Tim Steiner says Covid should be a factor when judging the performance. While there were obviously challenges relating to lockdown, the whole online groceries space received a significant boost in demand thanks to the pandemic.
‘At least the turnaround efforts at Ocado Retail appear to be bearing fruit. However, whether Marks & Spencer will continue its arrangement with Ocado has to be open to question given the somewhat fractious relationship.’
COMPETITIVE POSITIONING
Chris Beckett, head of equity research at Quilter Cheviot said: ‘The strategic price inflation of 2.2%-below market average-positions Ocado competitively for continued growth. Looking ahead, Ocado is expected to continue this upward trajectory with significant revenue growth.
‘The UK joint venture represents about 10% of group valuation, yet it displays Ocado’s cutting-edge technology’s global potential. Eyes are now set on pivotal updates from international partners, particularly in Australia and the US.’
DISCLAIMER: Financial services company AJ Bell referenced in this article owns Shares magazine. The author of this article (Sabuhi Gard) owns shares in Ocado and AJ Bell. The editor of this article (Tom Sieber) owns shares in AJ Bell.
