British online supermarket and technology group Ocado has reported a 21% fall in full-year core earnings, held back by investment and adoption of new accounting standards, and said short term profits would be hit as it seeks more partnership deals.
The firm, whose shares have nearly doubled over the last year thanks to four major overseas partnership deals, said that it made earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of £59.5 million for the 2017-18 year, down from £75.0 million in 2016-17.
‘Dedication and Perseverance’
"Our performance last year was the result of many years of focus, dedication and perseverance: what we have called our ’18-year overnight success’,” said Tim Steiner, Ocado chief executive.
“Our growth story, however, is only just beginning. We now have in place a platform for significant and sustainable long-term value creation as the leading pure-play digital grocer in the UK, a world-leading provider of end-to-end ecommerce grocery solutions, and as an innovative and creative technology company applying our proprietary knowledge to a range of challenges.”
Retail revenue was up 12.0%, while solutions revenue was up 15.8% at the group.
"Our transformation journey is well under way with increased cash fees earned and greater investment as we execute on behalf of our partners,” Steiner added.
“Creating future value now will involve us continuing to scale the business, enhancing our platform, enabling our UK retail business to take advantage of all its opportunities for growth, and innovating for the future.”
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Additional reporting by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
