Ocado has reported an 11.2 per cent rise in revenues, despite a blaze at its Andover warehouse which took its toll on sales.

First quarter results for the online grocery delivery company showed that revenue rose to £404 million.

Average orders were up 11. 3 per cent for the 13 weeks to 3 March, with weekly orders coming in at 314,000 on average, albeit with an average order size down 0.2 per cent to £110.24.

The company said the first quarter results showed “strong underlying growth”, despite the warehouse fire in February dragging down sales by 1.2 per cent. The facility had processed more than 65,000 orders a week.

Chief executive Tim Steiner said: “Our first quarter was characterised by continued strong underlying growth in Ocado Retail but also the initial impact of the fire in Andover on our headline numbers.

“The fire has been a setback, but it will be only a temporary one. Over the last few weeks, our teams have been working hard to minimise any disruption to our customers and we will build a state-of-the-art replacement facility that reflects all the innovations and improvements we have made since Andover opened in November 2016.”

The results also come after the group confirmed a joint venture for online and food delivery with M&S. The 50/50 joint venture will trade as Ocado.com, but with access to M&S’ brand, products and customer database from September 2020 at the latest, following the termination of its longstanding tie up with rival retailer Waitrose.

Share Story: