Ocado - comment

Stabilisation in the M&S JV is welcome for Ocado, although the company did take a £17.4m fair value charge in the half year. The post-pandemic slowdown in demand for online grocery shopping is no shock however, the trends are still for growth. We still expect M&S to buy Ocado out of their JV eventually and for Ocado to then focus on its global technology platform. 

The delivery of the first CFC for AEON in Japan is a milestone for Ocado. Coles (Australia) cautioned that the opening could miss the current mid-2024 delivery date. The delays in the delivery of CFC for Coles have been caused by design changes (including the addition of onsite bakeries).