SHARE OF THE WEEK: Will Ocado deliver a salve to shareholders?

Will Ocado deliver a salve to its worried shareholders next week?

Investors will be nervous to find out how the British supermarket and technology firm has performed over the first half amid ongoing woes.

The results announcement on Tuesday could be a story of two halves as Ocado opens high-tech warehouses around the world while its UK grocery arm flails.

The London-listed firm is reeling from a £500m loss in 2022 and an almost 80 per cent slump in its share price since its pandemic peak in 2020. Its supermarket division – Ocado Retail – has been hit by shoppers adding fewer items to online baskets as living costs have risen.

Analysts said the last annual results were ‘truly dismal’.

The chairman of Marks & Spencer, which owns 50 per cent of Ocado’s supermarket arm, said that there was ‘work to do’. 

Archie Norman said he was ‘not happy about where it is’ but added: ‘We strongly believe in the future of Ocado –we think it’s the right model for M&S online.’

‘Lockdowns had markets convinced that online delivery was the only game in town’, says Danni Hewson, AJ Bell analyst. 

‘The growth rates generated then have proved hard to sustain and rising interest rates have taken a toll on perceived growth stocks, especially those that offer jam tomorrow but losses today.’

Discount retailers Aldi and Lidl have snapped up market share, which has left the more upmarket supermarkets struggling to retain their customer bases.