British online grocery and warehouse technology company Ocado says it is in talks with several potential retail partners in the United States as it seeks to expand its business, despite recent
setbacks involving two of its existing North American customers.
The London-listed company, which develops automated fulfilment technology for supermarkets and operates a UK online grocery joint venture with Marks & Spencer, said it had "multiple live engagements" with US retailers using what it described as significantly improved technology solutions.
Ocado's update comes after its partners, US supermarket chain Kroger and Canada's Sobeys, announced plans to close several robotic customer fulfilment centres, citing weaker-than-expected consumer demand. Those decisions have weighed on investor confidence, with Ocado's shares falling around 36% over the past six months.
The company reported higher earnings for the first half of the year, helped by one-off termination payments linked to the closures. However, excluding those payments, adjusted earnings declined 12% to £81m ($110m), reflecting the challenges facing its core business.
Despite the fall in underlying profits, Ocado maintained its financial outlook. It said it still expects to generate positive cash flow during the current six-month period and remains on track to become cash-flow positive for the full year next year.
The company is increasingly focused on securing new US partnerships as it looks to strengthen its position in one of the world's largest grocery markets and offset slower growth from existing customers. Photo by Techwords, Wikimedia commons.
