TIDMOCDO
RNS Number : 7183G
Ocado Group PLC
19 March 2020
OCADO GROUP PLC
19 March 2020
Ocado Retail Q1 Trading Statement
Growth in line with guidance; no significant impact of Covid 19
in the quarter
Ocado Retail Ltd ("Ocado"), a joint venture between Ocado Group
plc ("Ocado Group") and Marks & Spencer Group plc ("M&S"),
today announces its trading statement for the 13 weeks to 1st March
2020.
Highlights
-- Growth in Retail Revenue of 10.3%, in line with guidance,
with average order size up slightly
-- Ocado Zoom, our immediacy offering, continues to perform well
and we continue to progress plans for a further site
-- With customers' concerns over the Coronavirus, since the
quarter end, we are seeing higher value baskets with an increase in
mix of ambient goods, as well as an increased demand for orders
-- While this has placed the business under unprecedented
strain, we are taking all measures to ensure that our service
remains as close to normal as possible and to meet as much of the
demand as we can.
Key financials
13 weeks to 13 weeks to Growth(4)
1 March 2020 3 March 2019
============== ============== ==========
Retail Revenue(1) GBP441.2m GBP399.8m 10.3%
============== ============== ==========
Average orders
per week(2) 343,000 311,000 10.2%
============== ============== ==========
Average order size(3) GBP110.24 GBP109.96 0.3%
======================= ============== ============== ==========
Melanie Smith, Ocado Retail's Chief Executive Officer, said:
" We have reported continuing growth at Ocado Retail with sales
up 10.3% over the quarter. The impact of higher basket values and
order demand, amid growing public concern over the Coronavirus, was
limited in the quarter, although this has since picked up
significantly and growth in the second quarter is so far double
that of the first quarter. We expect the impact of forward buying,
however, to unwind at some point.
However Coronavirus unfolds, what is clear is that the
fundamentals at Ocado Retail are strong, illustrated by double
digit increases in customer orders, driven by consistent execution,
which deliver a best-in-market customer experience. Preparations
for the M&S switchover from Waitrose, this September, are on
track, and we are looking forward to building closer and stronger
relationships with our branded suppliers as part of the
transition.
I am tremendously proud of my colleagues and the outcomes we
have achieved in the first quarter. I am confident that our
resilience, teamwork and commitment will stand us in good stead to
continue to deliver for our customers even with the current
uncertainties.
I'd also like to take this chance to thank our amazing drivers
and warehouse staff who are working tirelessly to deliver groceries
to as many people as possible in these uncertain times. Their
dedication and hard work is truly amazing."
Update on COVID-19 impact
As we notified customers in late February, we have experienced
an increase in order demand and basket size as a result of customer
behaviour changing in reaction to the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
The mix of ambient goods within customer baskets has also
increased.
In order to adapt to unprecedented demand and to protect our
employees, the business has made some operational changes to ensure
that we can deliver the most groceries at this time of need and to
provide the best possible service for customers despite the
disruptions. These included:
-- the hard choice of stopping registration for new customers for the time being
-- installed a new queuing system on the web interface to reduce
the impact of a several hundred percentage increase in web traffic
and improve transparency for customers
-- closed the App temporarily, while we scale ability to serve
the unprecedented use of our customer interfaces.
To further protect both employees and customers we have
temporarily reduced social contact by no longer taking back plastic
bags for recycling, and delivering groceries only to the doorstep
of customers' homes. We are also using temperature scanners at
entrances to our CFCs to protect those colleagues who work
there.
We will continue to monitor trends in demand closely, working
with suppliers to increase stock in relevant categories, where
possible, and adjusting our marketing approach, where necessary, to
address these shifts in behaviours.
Late yesterday, having sold all of our delivery capacity for the
coming days, we also took the decision to temporarily close our
webshop to enable us to make changes to ensure the distribution of
products and delivery slots is as fair as possible for our
customers. This will not affect existing orders as we will deliver
any customer order already booked.
Our guidance for Retail Revenue growth in FY20 of 10-15% is
unchanged, at this point, as we assume there to have been a large
element of forward buying of ambient items and there may be further
disruptions ahead.
Ocado Group, on behalf of the joint-venture, will be hosting an
analyst conference call at 7.30am today. Dial in details for the UK
a re 0800 408 7373, Room number: 881223; participant pin code: 2645
# . For those dialling in from elsewhere please refer to this link:
https://www.speakservecloud.com/dial-in-numbers . A replay facility
can be accessed on 0800 408 7373; Room number: 746159 for 90 days
following the announcement.
Contacts
-- Duncan Tatton-Brown, Chief Financial Officer, Ocado Group plc, on 01707 228 000
-- David Shriver, Director of Communications, Ocado Group plc, on 01707 228 000
-- Fraser Ramzan, Head of Investor Relations, Marks and Spencer Group plc, on 020 3884 7080
-- Martin Robinson at Tulchan Communications on 020 7353 4200
About Ocado Retail
Online supermarket Ocado.com was established in 2000 and is one
of Britain's leading online retailers, now a 50:50 joint venture
between Ocado Group and Marks & Spencer Group plc. Covering
geographies comprising over 74% of UK households, every shopping
bag is carefully packed in one of three distribution centres using
market leading software and technology. Shopping is then delivered
direct to customers using a network of regional spokes in
brightly-coloured vans. With award-winning mobile apps, Ocado
Retail delivers over 50,000 products, including big-name brands, a
range of Ocado own brand products and a growing non-food selection.
Thoughtful service features such as colour-coded bags, digital
receipts provided in date order, reminder texts with your driver's
name, along with convenient hourly delivery slots complementing
award-winning customer service on email, phone and social
media.
Notes
1. Retail revenue comprises revenues from Ocado.com, Fetch, and Ocado Zoom.
2. Average orders per week refers to results of Ocado.com and Fetch.
3. Average order size refers to results of Ocado.com and Fetch.
4. Growth percentage calculated on a rounded basis.
5. The figures used in this announcement are unaudited.
6. A copy of this trading update is available on www.ocadogroup.com and www.corporate.marksandspencer.com.
Cautionary statement
Certain statements made in this announcement are forward-looking
statements. Such statements are based on current expectations and
assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from
any expected future events or results expressed or implied in these
forward-looking statements. Persons receiving this announcement
should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Unless otherwise required by applicable law, regulation or
accounting standard, Ocado does not undertake to update or revise
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future developments or otherwise.
Person responsible for arranging release of this
announcement:
Neill Abrams
Group General Counsel & Company Secretary
Ocado Group plc
Buildings One & Two Trident Place
Mosquito Way
Hatfield
Hertfordshire
AL10 9UL
email: company.secretary@ocado.com
LEI: 213800LO8F61YB8MBC74
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
TSTKKFBKNBKBFND
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 19, 2020 03:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
Ocado (LSE:OCDO)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Mar 2024 a Abr 2024
Ocado (LSE:OCDO)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Abr 2023 a Abr 2024
