British retailer Ocado cut losses significantly as its continued investment in its robotic warehouse technology helped drive revenue growth.
The company posted a loss of £153.9m in its half-year report, 46.8% less than the same period in 2023.
Revenue was up across the majority of its income streams, most notably its technology solutions, which rose by 21.8% to £241.4m.
This includes its robotic fulfilment centre technology, which Ocado licenses to other retailers. The growth in this division came despite several brands pausing or pushing back plans to adopt Ocado’s technology, including Marks & Spencer and Kroger.
Ocado posted total group revenue of £1.5bn for the first half of the year. The London-listed firm’s total revenue reported for 2023 was £2.8bn, with a pre-tax loss of £418m.
“We have come through an unprecedented period for online grocery, with multiple years of high food inflation following a surge in demand during the pandemic,” said Ocado Group CEO Tim Steiner.
“The global channel shift to online has now resumed and Ocado is uniquely well-positioned to take advantage of the opportunity.”
Last week, the online grocery giant revealed plans to build a new robotic warehouse in Japan as part of a deal with Aeon.
The automated facility will be the company’s third in the country, having first made a deal to provide high-tech customer fulfilment centres for the Japanese retail firm in 2019.
In September 2023, the firm launched a robotic fulfilment centre in Luton.
Shares in Ocado jumped 15% this morning to 388p, rising further to 393p at the time of writing.