Ocado saw gross sales rise by 13.6 per cent during the 52 weeks to 27 November 2016 while revenue jumped by 14.8 per cent.
The online retailer said its full-year results showed “robust trading” in its core business. Total orders grew by 17.9 per cent, while own-label sales were up by over 10 per cent.
During the year, Ocado.com grew its range to over 50,000 SKUs, up from 47,000 in 2015. The average hypermarket basket value declined by 2.7 per cent to £108.10, impacted by price deflation in the market, Ocado said.
CEO Tim Steiner said: “Over the course of the last year, we grew our active customer base by almost 14 per cent, with growth in average orders per week approaching 18 per cent, testament to the strength of our customer proposition, market position and technology.
'We commenced operations at our new Customer Fulfilment Centre in Andover, which has the first installation of our new proprietary technology. At the same time, we have made good progress in improving the efficiency and throughput of our existing operations, increasing our capacity from existing facilities by over 20,000 weekly orders.
'These developments position us well for future growth, while improving our returns and enhancing the service we can offer our customers.”
Analysts have said Ocado’s strong results could lead to a takeover proposition by another multiple retailer.
“Rumours still persist that Amazon or another retailer might actually take over Ocado lock, stock and barrel-aged feta cheese,” said head of consumer research at e-commerce firm Fastlane International, David Jinks. “Morrisons also cut back on its Ocado R&D investment a few years ago, so Ocado is by no means solely wedded to Morrisons, and is developing a roving eye.”
“Ocado doesn’t have the economies of scale that traditional brick and mortar supermarket chains have and always seems a likely candidate for acquisition because of its net debts, which rose to nearly £165 million.
“But even if there is no happy announcement of such a marriage for Ocado this year; it seems likely its continued international courting of other grocery chains who need to introduce a strong online platform, without wanting to spend the time and money in developing their own complete end to end site, will pay off with an important new partnership.”
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