Online grocery retailer Ocado has reported that gross sales (inc. VAT and marketing vouchers), increased by 16.6 per cent in the year November 27 to £642.8 million. Ocado’s pre-tax losses were lowered to £2.4 million from a loss of £12.2 million the previous year. EBITDA increased by 26.6 per cent to £27.9million with the EBITDA margin improving to 4.7 per cent from 4.3 per cent.
The company stated that its sales growth in 2011 outdid its competitors in the sector. The number of active customers had increased by 13.5% to 298,000 by the end of the year. The retailer’s own-label range is now found in 70 per cent of customer orders; the range included 620 products at the year-end, an increase from 250 products in 2010. "Competition in the online grocery sector is as strong as the traditional store-based sector, and will almost certainly increase," said Tim Steiner, CEO of Ocado. (1 Feb)
© 2012 ESM: European Supermarket Magazine
© 2012 ESM: European Supermarket Magazine
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