1Q19 Trading Update Ocado reported its 1Q19 trading update. These are the highlights:

• Ocado grew retail revenue 11.2% year over year to £404 million. Retail revenue includes revenue from Ocado.com, Fetch, Fabled and wholesale partnerships. The fire at an automated fulfilment center in Andover in February caused revenue losses equal to 1.2% of sales in the quarter.
• The company’s average orders per week (from Ocado.com, Fetch and Fabled) were strong at 314,000, up 11.3% year over year, but the average order size (on Ocado.com only) was down 0.2% year over year to £110.2.
• Ocado noted that order processing at its Erith fulfilment center is ramping up, and the unit is now processing nearly 37,000 orders per week.
• As of March 3, 2019, Ocado had cash and cash equivalents of £390.7 million and gross debt of £288.5 million.
• At the end of February, the company announced a 50/50 joint venture with M&S.

Tim Steiner, Ocado's CEO, said:

Our first quarter was characterised by continued strong underlying growth in Ocado Retail but also the initial impact of the fire at our CFC in Andover on our headline numbers. The fire has been a setback, but it will be only a temporary one. With the joint venture signed with M&S at the end of February, Ocado Retail has never been in a stronger position to lead channel shift while constantly setting the bar for excellence in online grocery in the UK.

Outlook In its FY18 results, Ocado guided for retail revenues to increase in the range of 10–15% for FY19 (ending November) and capital expenditure of £350 million, with additional capital directed towards its solutions business, which supplies technology to other retailers. The company will investigate the impact of the fire at Andover on its 10-15% revenue growth target and inform the market “in due course.” However, Ocado expects the fire will not have any significant impact on its long-term plans. In FY19, according to the consensus estimates recorded by StreetAccount, analysts expect Ocado to report revenues of £1.79 billion, up 11.9% year over year, and a loss per share of 5.4 pence.