Ocado's earnings dented by capacity constraint after fire

LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - Britain's Ocado, the online supermarket and technology company, reported a 46% fall in first-half core earnings, reflecting the loss of capacity after a fire destroyed a flagship distribution centre as well as accounting changes.

The group said on Tuesday it made adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 18.7 million pounds ($23.4 million) in the 26 weeks to June 2 versus a restated 34.8 million pounds in the same period last year.

Ocado, whose shares have increased 48% so far this year, was confident about its outlook. "We have never had as many opportunities to grow as we do today," it said. ($1 = 0.7997 pounds) (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton)