OCDO.L - Ocado Group plc
| Previous close | 1,318.00 |
| Open | 1,300.00 |
| Bid | 1,284.00 x 0 |
| Ask | 1,285.50 x 0 |
| Day's range | 1,274.00 - 1,300.00 |
| 52-week range | 836.40 - 1,440.50 |
| Volume | 1,016,977 |
| Avg. volume | 1,739,686 |
| Market cap | 9.1B |
| Beta (5Y monthly) | 0.92 |
| PE ratio (TTM) | N/A |
| EPS (TTM) | -24.70 |
| Earnings date | 11 Feb 2020 |
| Forward dividend & yield | N/A (N/A) |
| Ex-dividend date | N/A |
| 1y target est | 985.69 |
- Reuters - UK Focus
LIVE MARKETS-2020: No Fed action, no recession, Trump re-election
- Simply Wall St.
How Much Did Ocado Group plc's (LON:OCDO) CEO Pocket Last Year?
In 2000 Tim Steiner was appointed CEO of Ocado Group plc (LON:OCDO). This report will, first, examine the CEO...
- Stockopedia
The Ocado share price – where next?
The Ocado (LON:OCDO) share price has risen by 6.62% over the past month and it’s currently trading at 1317p. For investors considering whether to buy, hold or8230;
- Bloomberg
Amazon Lends Deliveroo Cash While U.K. Probes Investment
(Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc. has offered Deliveroo a loan after a U.K. probe into the food-delivery startup’s last funding round threatened a cash crunch, people familiar with the matter said.Without the backing from Amazon, Deliveroo ran the risk of running low on capital, the people said. While the size of the loan is unclear, the London-based company has significant funds to continue operating, they said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.A spokesman from Deliveroo declined to comment. An Amazon spokesman initially referred to an earlier statement that said Deliveroo should have “broad access to investors and supporters.”Amazon led a $575 million investment into Deliveroo in May. It was frozen in a surprise move by the Competition and Markets Authority, which has said Amazon’s bid to buy a minority holding in the company had the potential to damage competition in restaurant and grocery delivery. The U.K. competition regulator said last month that it would conduct an in-depth investigation of Amazon’s approximately $500 million investment and will rule on the deal by June 11.Amazon’s loan will be converted into equity if the CMA approves the original deal, the people said. In a statement following the original publication of this story, an Amazon representative said the company continues “to comply with the Initial Enforcement Order issued in June, which requires the parties to operate separately and restricts the parties from entering into non-ordinary course agreements like a loan. Deliveroo and Amazon have been working closely with the CMA and will continue to do so.”Deliveroo had about 185 million pounds ($240 million) in cash and cash equivalents at the end of 2018, according to its latest annual report. While global sales increased 72% in 2018, its net loss before tax widened to 232 million pounds.The intervention signals Seattle-based Amazon’s commitment to expand in the restaurant food delivery market, after winding down its own service in the U.K. and the U.S., which failed to win significant market share.Amazon Prime offers grocery deliveries to major British cities within two hours, but it faces domestic competition from the likes of Ocado Group Plc, an online grocery pioneer that makes its own deliveries and licenses its technology to traditional food shops.Deliveroo Chief Executive Officer Will Shu, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker, previously told Bloomberg that he hopes to tap Amazon’s operational and logistics expertise.While Deliveroo waits for the deal to be approved by the CMA, rivals are busy consolidating. Takeaway.com NV last week declared victory in the battle for Just Eat Plc, while Germany’s Delivery Hero SE said in December it would take control of South Korea’s biggest food delivery app, Woowa Brothers Corp. Prosus NV is also looking to continue doing deals in the sector after losing out in the Just Eat deal.(Updates with Amazon comment in the fifth paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Giles Turner in London at gturner35@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net, Amy Thomson, Nate LanxonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
The Boris Bounce Was More of a Christmas Turkey
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Flashback to mid-December. British voters had just delivered a decisive national election victory to Boris Johnson’s Conservatives with two full weekends left before Christmas. Expectations were high that shoppers, giddy at the prospect of an end to political gridlock and repetitive threats of hard Brexit, would rush to the stores to make up for lost time in their holiday preparations and provide a much-needed boost for the country’s big supermarket chains.Anyone in the industry expecting a Boris bounce was sorely disappointed. Numbers out Tuesday show the U.K.’s largest food retailers suffered from subdued trading over the crucial Christmas and New Year’s period.Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc said consumers remained cautious, even if there was a bit of relief following the election result. Still, it wasn’t enough to make up for belt tightening. Although customers put the same amount of Christmas fare in their baskets, the number of times they shopped was marginally down, it said.It didn’t help that a price war broke out in the run up to the holidays, with the U.K. arms of the German discount chains Lidl and Aldi slashing prices. They drew shoppers with offers, such as bags of Christmas vegetables from as little as 15 pence. Morrison was offering three British vegetables for one pound, including a 2.5 kg bag of Maris Piper potatoes, described by Chief Executive Officer David Potts as a knock-out offer. But with intense competition from the discounters, perhaps it just wasn’t knock out enough. Where consumers treated themselves, it seems they opted for Aldi’s Specially Selected mince pies.Moderating food price inflation was also a hindrance. Morrison estimated that over the past couple of months food-price inflation was close to zero. When food prices are rising, the value of supermarkets’ sales is automatically boosted.Morrison may turn out to be one of the weakest performers. But trading across the whole of the U.K. food retail market was lackluster, according to industry research group Kantar. 2019 saw the lowest rate of growth over the Christmas period since 2015, it said.What oxygen there is in the market is feeding the discount supermarkets. Excluding online-only supermarket Ocado Group Plc, Lidl was the strongest performer in the 12 weeks to Dec. 29, with sales up by 10.3%, according to Kantar. Aldi also expanded its sales by 5.9%, a slower rate of growth than in the past, but still way ahead of the so-called big four supermarkets, Tesco, J Sainsbury Plc, Walmart Inc.’s U.K. arm Asda and Morrison.Sainsbury, which reports on Wednesday, may be more upbeat than Morrison, as its stronghold is in the southeast, where there is less competition from the discounters, and it tends to outperform at Christmas. Tesco may also do better, as it has been one of the stronger performers over the past few months, and that may continue.But it provides little comfort that all of the big four saw their sales fall in the 12 weeks to Dec. 29, compared with the year earlier, according to Kantar.With U.K. wage growth still ahead of inflation, and consumer confidence showing some improvement, Johnson’s resounding victory and the certainty it appeared to provide around Britain’s departure from the European Union was supposed to boost holiday shopping. Coming in mid-December, it probably came too late to make a noticeable impact on spending on clothing and gifts, but it should have had a positive impact on supermarket shopping. That clearly didn’t happen, and that is a worrying sign for grocers as they move into what is traditionally a lean time after the holidays. This year it could be even more painful, as many consumers move out of categories such as alcohol and meat, as trends like Dry January and Veganuary gain pace.As for Morrison, the company needs to be on its guard. When food prices are rising, all of the big four supermarkets can prosper at the same time. When there is little growth, grocers need to steal sales from a weaker rival. This time last year, that was looking like Sainsbury. Now Morrison looks vulnerable. It has a strong management team, robust balance sheet, more than 85% freehold property and a developing wholesale business. Even so, it needs to get its sales growth back on track, to make make sure it does not become 2020’s Christmas feast.To contact the author of this story: Andrea Felsted at afelsted@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Melissa Pozsgay at mpozsgay@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Andrea Felsted is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the consumer and retail industries. She previously worked at the Financial Times.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Fool.co.uk
Ouch! Here’s how much £1k invested in Marks and Spencer 5 years ago would be worth now
Paul Summers takes a closer look at just how awful an investment in Marks and Spencer Group plc (LON:MKS) has been in recent years.
- Yahoo Finance UK
What to Watch: Lagarde's first ECB meeting, Aramco surge, Ocado and Superdry sales
A daily overview of the top business, market, and economic stories to watch in the UK, Europe, and abroad.
- Yahoo Finance UK
Ocado and Marks & Spencer joint venture reports sales rise in 'strong quarter'
Ocado Retail said that retail revenue grew by 10.8% in the thirteen weeks to 1 December.
- Reuters - UK Focus
UPDATE 1-Britain's Ocado sees sales growth edge lower in latest quarter
British online supermarket Ocado said on Thursday retail revenue growth slightly slowed in its latest quarter, as it saw growth in weekly orders but it was held back by flat order size. For the 13 weeks to Dec. 1, its fiscal fourth quarter, Ocado Retail's revenue rose 10.8% to 429.1 million pounds ($550.5 million). Ocado Retail is now a joint venture between Ocado and Marks & Spencer.
- Reuters
Ocado sees sales growth edge lower in latest quarter
British online supermarket Ocado said on Thursday retail revenue growth slightly slowed in its latest quarter, as it saw growth in weekly orders but it was held back by flat order size. For the 13 weeks to Dec. 1, its fiscal fourth quarter, Ocado Retail's revenue rose 10.8% to 429.1 million pounds. Ocado Retail is now a joint venture between Ocado and Marks & Spencer .
- Investing.com
Premarket London: WPP Announces Buyback; Ocado/M&S JV Sales Strong
Investing.com -- Here is a summary of the most important regulatory news releases from the London Stock Exchange on Thursday, 12th December. Please refresh for updates.
- Bloomberg
Amazon's Deliveroo Takeout Leaves an Unpleasant Taste
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- It’s the worst nightmare of supermarkets and food delivery firms alike: Amazon.com Inc. turbocharging its grocery business with a network of couriers who can have grub on your doorstep within an hour.So you can see why Britain’s competition regulator has decided to challenge the e-commerce giant’s planned investment in Deliveroo, the U.K. rival to UberEats. The Competition and Markets Authority needs to tread carefully, though, as denying the funds to Deliveroo might inadvertently make it less able to compete in the food delivery business. That would be an unfortunate outcome.Back in May, Deliveroo announced a $575 million funding round led by Amazon. On Wednesday, the CMA determined that the investment might hurt competition in U.K. food delivery. It has given the companies five days to offer remedies, and it will launch a deeper probe if they don’t.The CMA’s concerns are warranted. While Amazon shuttered its British restaurant delivery operations last year, it remains interested in the market. The Deliveroo investment is a way of staying in the game; the American company is no doubt interested in the British business’s tens of thousands of riders. The two are also rivals in grocery deliveries, so forging a closer alliance would discourage them from competing. That’s a risk for delivery rival Ocado Group Plc and supermarket chains such as J Sainsbury Plc and Tesco Plc.A lengthy CMA investigation might be a problem, though, because of Deliveroo’s pressing capital requirements. A probe probably wouldn’t complete until the second quarter of next year, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Aitor Ortiz. By then Deliveroo will have waited a year to receive its investment. If previous form is a guide, it needs that money. In 2018 Deliveroo burned through almost 200 million pounds ($263 million) of cash. If it has been spending at a similar clip this year, it might be nearing the bottom of its pile.There are plenty of remedies that might be acceptable to the CMA: An assurance from Amazon that it won’t try to buy Deliveroo for five years; a pledge not to integrate delivery services; and Amazon refraining from taking a board seat. If such concessions remove Amazon’s rationale for the investment, then it should back out. At least that would give Deliveroo an earlier opportunity to find different funding.The CMA will have one eye on what happened recently in the German food delivery market, where Takeaway.com NV acquired the local businesses of Delivery Hero SE, giving it more than 90% market share. But it can afford a degree of lenience in this case. It could still block any merger, should that materialize. Delaying Deliveroo’s access to funds would probably hold the company back in its market scrap with UberEats and Just Eat Plc.Regulators have been poor at anticipating the market-cornering impact of deals in the past, most famously Facebook Inc.’s acquisition of Instagram and Google’s $3.2 billion purchase of DoubleClick. Scrutinizing Amazon is right and proper, and a commitment not to integrate Deliveroo’s courier network would be a fair condition. But unless a full merger is on the table, the CMA mustn’t overdo things.To contact the author of this story: Alex Webb at awebb25@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: James Boxell at jboxell@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Alex Webb is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Europe's technology, media and communications industries. He previously covered Apple and other technology companies for Bloomberg News in San Francisco.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Fool.co.uk
My worst stock tips of 2019, and how to avoid them
Here are three of the stocks I got seriously wrong in 2019, and what mistakes I made.
- Fool.co.uk
Are robots set to take over the Ocado share price?
Will the issuance of a convertible bond to fund a robotic warehouse hinder or help Ocado shares?
- Fool.co.uk
3 reasons why I wouldn’t buy Ocado shares
Should you buy shares in Ocado? Here's three things I would think about.
- Bloomberg
Kroger Needs to Pare Down Its Grocery List
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- It was never going to be easy for Kroger Co., the nation’s largest supermarket chain, to play defense at a moment of colossal change in the grocery business.That was apparent in its Thursday earnings report, in which revenue and adjusted earnings per share revenue came in slightly below analysts’ expectations, sending shares down. (On the bright side, comparable sales growth accelerated, increasing 2.5% from a year earlier.)The patchy results are the latest reason to doubt that this company is going to be able to transform itself for a more digital-centric future before it’s too late.At a presentation for analysts last month, CEO Rodney McMullen acknowledged that, two years into a three-year turnaround plan, the company has come up short. In particular, he said, “we asked our store associates to do too many things at once,” a reference to its efforts to remodel stores and make better use of shelf space while simultaneously ramping up its click-and-collect business.It is concerning that Kroger apparently has found it so difficult to do retailing battle on multiple fronts. After all, that is simply the reality of being a major brick-and-mortar chain these days, and key rivals seem to be managing it just fine.Target Corp. has renovated about 700 stores since 2017 and has also managed to roll out same-day delivery via Shipt and expand curbside pickup. In the latest quarter, 80% of its digital growth came from those and other same-day fulfillment options. Walmart Inc. has had similar success, developing an online grocery operation that is competitive with Amazon.com Inc.’s while also making physical stores cleaner and better-stocked.It’s not just that Kroger needs to be able to multitask. It also needs a better plan to win at online grocery.In a recent press release, Kroger proudly touted that, as a holiday season promotion, it would offer online grocery pickup for free and waive the usual $4.95 fee. Are shoppers seriously supposed to be impressed by that when pickup is always free at Walmart and Target? If Kroger can’t match that offering, it’s hard to see how it is going to fight effectively for digital grocery market share.Kroger’s biggest e-commerce bet is its partnership with Ocado Group Plc to build automated warehouses for grocery delivery. But those efficiencies will only matter if it can build a substantial base of online customers. And the cost of building these one-of-a-kind facilities, executives have said recently, is coming in higher than expected.In the meantime, Kroger continues to make head-scratching moves such as its foray into the world of so-called “dark kitchens,” or delivery-only food preparation facilities. Through a partnership with the cheekily named ClusterTruck, it announced this week, Kroger will experiment with on-demand delivery of prepared meals.This effectively puts the supermarket chain in competition for the diners that Grubhub, Doordash and Uber Eats are after. This category has enormous growth potential, so Kroger’s ambitions are understandable. But it’s also an area in which restaurant and technology companies have a head start and seem destined to outflank Kroger. And the whole venture seems like a distraction from the more pressing mission of shoring up its positioning in its core grocery business.Kroger’s three-year plan was underwhelming when it was unveiled two years ago, and since then the company hasn’t consistently impressed with its execution. Kroger is undoubtedly a busy company, but it’s not clear all the hustle is making it a better one.To contact the author of this story: Sarah Halzack at shalzack@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Newman at mnewman43@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Sarah Halzack is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the consumer and retail industries. She was previously a national retail reporter for the Washington Post.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Fool.co.uk
£5k to invest? Here are 2 FTSE 100 stocks I’d buy prior to the election
These two FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) companies may deserve investors' attention in 2020.
- Fool.co.uk
Which is better, the rising share price of Tesco or Ocado?
Tesco (LON: TSCO) shares are climbing, and so, apart from this dip, are Ocado's (LON: OCDO). Here's what I'd do.
- Bloomberg
Grocery-Packing Robots Are Aiming For World Domination
Ocado Group Plc’s new deal in Japan is appetizing, but it’s probably bitten off more than it can chew.(Bloomberg Opinion) -- The online grocer that’s specialized in automating how orders are filled said on Friday that it will provide Aeon Co. with its technology, initially in the region around Tokyo. It hasn’t put a value on the deal, but Ocado expects the contract to cover sales of about 1.5 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) by 2025, rising to about 7 billion pounds by 2035.To achieve that, analysts at Bernstein estimate that it will need to build about 20 automated warehouses, the same number envisaged in Ocado’s biggest deal to date with U.S. supermarket group Kroger Co.It’s not surprising that Ocado Chief Executive Officer Tim Steiner has been tantalized by licensing the company’s software in Asia. Japan is the world’s fourth-biggest grocery market, according to industry researcher IGD. There’s also potential in other parts of Asia.But Ocado already has a lot on its plate, not least the Kroger partnership, where success is crucial to enhancing its credibility with clients and investors alike. The shares slumped earlier this month on concerns that its roll-out at one of the U.S.’s biggest traditional grocery retailers was progressing slower than expected. Ocado is also facing a new challenge from startup Takeoff Technologies. Like Ocado, which was started by three former Goldman Sachs bankers, its executives have Wall Street as well as grocery industry experience. But, rather than building giant state-of-the-art warehouses, it concentrates on making the process of picking groceries directly off of supermarket shelves for home delivery more efficient. This model has also been favored by Tesco Plc in the U.K.Ocado sought to reassure investors recently that the relationship with Kroger was on track, announcing the sixth location for what in industry jargon is called a fulfillment center. But given the importance of this contract, the fact that the U.S. is still the world’s biggest grocery market and that the group had been chasing tie-up there for years, it would have been better to keep it as its priority.When it comes to the capital available for investing in these big international partnerships, shareholders can take heart. Ocado’s sale earlier this year of a 50% stake in its U.K. online grocery business to Marks & Spencer Group Plc for up to 750 million pounds, boosted its coffers.Ocado said it had 1 billion pounds of headroom. With each warehouse costing about 30 million pounds, it has scope to build 30. Even with all the recent contract wins, it doesn’t expect to have to build more than 30 distribution centers, so it should have enough capital for its current commitments. Management bandwidth is another story. Next year, Ocado will be juggling the Kroger contract, getting Aeon off the ground and overseeing the transition to M&S becoming its grocery supplier in the U.K. That’s a lot to do. And let’s not forget its other contracts with Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA in France, Sobeys Inc. in Canada and Coles Group in Australia.The Aeon contract will also require yet more developers to prepare the technology too. Ocado estimates it will need to take on an extra 400 people to get the job done.Investors shrugged off any such concerns on Friday, with the shares rising as much as 15%. But Ocado has a history of unexpected items in its bagging area, from not having enough capacity in its warehouses to a fire at one of its robotic fulfillment centers in the U.K. earlier this year. Over-filling its delivery box increases the risk of more unpleasant surprises.((Corrects scale to trillion in first chart.))To contact the author of this story: Andrea Felsted at afelsted@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Melissa Pozsgay at mpozsgay@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Andrea Felsted is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the consumer and retail industries. She previously worked at the Financial Times.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters - UK Focus
UPDATE 2-UK shares tumble as Trump tariff tweet triggers trade fears
UK shares handed back gains to close lower on Monday as a combination of U.S. President Donald Trump setting off global trade worries and disappointing data from the world's biggest economy doused the morning's cheer. The FTSE 100 ended down 0.8% on its third session in the red, after rising by the same level earlier in the day, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 dipped 0.5%. Trump's surprise plans to restore tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminium imports from Brazil and Argentina dragged most other stocks in to the red.
- Reuters - UK Focus
UPDATE 2-European shares slide after strong November; trade jitters nag
European shares posted their biggest daily drop in two months on Monday, with most major markets including Germany and France slumping more than 2%, as a reimposition of U.S. metal tariffs on Brazil and Argentina triggered a decline in global sentiment. After an upbeat November, its third straight month of gains, the pan-European STOXX 600 index closed down 1.6%, erasing session gains after positive factory activity data from China and major euro zone economies had earlier taken it to near four-year peaks.
- Reuters - UK Focus
UPDATE 2-Ocado launches $642 mln bond issue to fund robotic warehouse deals
British online grocer and technology company Ocado has launched a 500 million pounds ($642 million) convertible bond offering, partly to fund the construction of robotic warehouses for its overseas partners, it said on Monday. While Ocado's retail business has only a 1.4% share of Britain's grocery market, its state-of-the-art technology has enabled it to win partnership deals with supermarket groups around the world, including Kroger in the United States, Casino in France and most recently Aeon in Japan. Ocado shares were, however, down 5.2% at 0836 GMT, as the bonds can be converted into shares.
- Reuters
Ocado launches £500 million bond issue to fund robotic warehouse deals
British online grocer and technology company Ocado has launched a 500 million pounds convertible bond offering, partly to fund the construction of robotic warehouses for its overseas partners, it said on Monday. While Ocado's retail business has only a 1.4% share of Britain's grocery market, its state-of-the-art technology has enabled it to win partnership deals with supermarket groups around the world, including Kroger in the United States, Casino in France and most recently Aeon in Japan. Ocado shares were, however, down 5.2% at 0836 GMT, as the bonds can be converted into shares.
