LONDON (Reuters) – Ocado, the British online supermarket and technology group, reported a smaller annual loss and said it was on track to hit its key target of turning cash flow positive in its 2025-26 year.
The group runs an online supermarket in Britain through a joint venture with Marks & Spencer, though its value is driven by the sale of its cutting-edge warehouse technology to retailers around the world.
Ocado said on Thursday it had made a pretax loss of 374.3 million pounds ($473.8 million) in the year to Dec. 1 2024, versus a loss of 387 million pounds in 2022-23.
At the core earnings, or adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), level, Ocado’s preferred metric, the group made 153.3 million pounds, up from 51.6 million pounds in 2022/23, reflecting an improved performance in both its technology solutions and retail divisions.
Ocado shares are down 33% year-on-year with the market concerned by a slowdown in the rollout of robotic sites for its grocery retail partners and a lack of further technology deals.
Its most important grocery partner, Kroger in the United States, has slowed down its rollout of robotic warehouses, or customer fulfilment centres (CFCs) as Ocado calls them, while its Canadian partner Sobeys has paused the opening of a fourth warehouse.
Ocado said at least seven more CFCs would go live over the next three years.
But it said two of these – CFCs for Kroger in Charlotte and Phoenix – were not now expected to go live until early in its 2025-26 year.
($1 = 0.7900 pounds)
(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Kate Holton)
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