Ocado, the British online supermarket and technology group, said it was confident that the surge in online grocery shopping due to the coronavirus pandemic will continue as it reported a 27.2% jump in first half retail sales.
Industry data shows online penetration of the British grocery market has almost doubled in recent months to 13% from 7% before the pandemic.
Globally, online grocery penetration is currently low, with significant scope for expansion.
Ocado said today that etail revenue for the 26 weeks to May 31 was £1.02 billion, up from £803.2m the same time last year, boosted by the UK being on lockdown for nearly all of its second quarter which drove unprecedented demand.
"As a result of Covid-19 we have seen years of growth in the online grocery market condensed into a matter of months; and we won't be going back," chief executive Tim Steiner said.
"We are confident that accelerated growth in the online channel will continue, leading to a permanent redrawing of the landscape of the grocery industry worldwide," the CEO added.
Ocado said fees invoiced to overseas technology partners rose 58.2% to £73.7m as its international roll-out gained pace with the opening of the its first robotic distribution warehouses for Casino in Paris and Sobeys in Toronto.
However, the group's core earnings, or EBITDA, fell 36% to £19.8m, reflecting increased costs from investment in the technology business. A loss before tax of £40.6m also reflected this investment.
Ocado, which last month raised £1 billion through an equity and bond issue, said there was no material change to its forecasts from previous statements.
The Ocado boss also said today that online penetration of the UK grocery market will double again in the next few years.
Industry data shows penetration has almost doubled in recent months to 13% from 7% before the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
"We strongly believe that demand will continue to grow. I think we'll see another doubling of the (online grocery) market in the next few years," Tim Steiner told reporters today.
He said once levels of 20-30% were reached the economics of stores would be challenged.
"You'll then see a continued channel shift to significantly greater market share and ultimately to be the mainstream market share," he added.
