Ocado posts revenue bump as tech investments pay off

Ocado posted a slight revenue bump and reduction in losses as the London-listed firm holds steady on its tech investments.

The grocery delivery firm posted £2.8bn in revenue for 2023 across the group, a 10% increase from the year prior, while pre-tax losses fell from £471m to £418m.

The group’s technology solutions, which have received considerable investment from the firm, generated 40% greater revenue compared with 2022, jumping from £291.4m to £420.5m.

Its retail business returned to a positive adjusted EBITDA of £10.4m.

Last year, Ocado opened three robotic fulfilment centres – in Luton, Japan and Canada – after raising £578m from investors to drive R&D of its automated tech.

“Our technology is transforming the way people shop for food as we help some of the world’s best and most innovative retailers set the bar for excellence in grocery ecommerce worldwide,” said Ocado Group CEO Tim Steiner.

“Future success will be driven by the characteristics that have always set Ocado apart: our ability to solve some of the most difficult engineering challenges in the market, our capacity to innovate at pace, and our discipline to turn vision into reality.”

Shares in Ocado were up around 6% when trading opened on Thursday.

The company’s full-year results included £187m from a patent dispute it won against Norweigian robotics company AutoStore, which had accused the company of infringing on its existing patents for robotic warehouse workers.