Failing to deliver: Ocado profits hit by warehouse and IT systems spend

Online grocer Ocado has slumped to a full-year loss and warned that earnings will be knocked by the cost of developing its new warehouses and IT systems. The group reported a pre-tax loss of £500,000 on a 52-week comparable basis to 3 December, down from profits of £12 million a year earlier, despite seeing sales rise 12.4 per cent. It cautioned that underlying earnings in the 2018 financial year would “reflect” the costs of investing in its UK logistics hubs, which include a distribution centre in Andover, Hampshire.