Ocado said it expects trading to improve later in the year after its fourth quarter retail revenue rose by 0.3% to £549.4 million.
In the 13 weeks to 27 November, average orders per week at Ocado.com increased by 1.9% year-on-year to 382,000 as the retailer grew its number of active customers by 12.9% to 940,000. However, average basket value was down 1.3% year-on-year at £117.
The business, which is a joint venture between Ocado and Marks & Spencer, posted a 3.8% decline in full-year revenue to £2.2 billion, but this represented a 40% increase on pre-pandemic levels three years ago.
Ocado said it has made a strong start to its new financial year with sales up 15% over the five days before Christmas, including the highest level of orders ever recorded in a single day.
The company said current headwinds related to inflationary costs, capacity investments and higher marketing costs have continued to weigh on profitability.
