Ocado Group has narrowed its half-year losses as its joint venture with M&S, Ocado Retail, has seen sales surge amid a “market-leading trading performance”.

For the 26 weeks to 2 June 2024, the technology and logistics company saw loss before tax almost halve to £154m, down from £290m in the first half of 2023.

Across the group, sales rose 12.6% to £1.5bn, while technology solutions sales surged 22% to £241m and logistics sales were up 6% to £354m.

Ocado Retail also saw a positive sales performance, up 11% to £1.3bn, which the group attributed to the grocery arm’s ‘Perfect Execution’ programme that focuses on improving the availability, quality and life of each product on the site, and increasing the M&S product offer.

Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free

Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning

Over the period, the online supermarket saw a 9.2% growth in average orders per week to 428,000, which delivered adjusted EBITDA of £20.7m.

Ocado Group chief executive Tim Steiner said that in the UK, Ocado Retail “continues to lead the way in online grocery”.

“Today’s results illustrate good progress as we support thirteen of the world’s leading grocers to grow their online business with our technology.

“We have come through an unprecedented period for online grocery, with multiple years of high food inflation following a surge in demand during the pandemic. The global channel shift to online has now resumed and Ocado is uniquely well-positioned to take advantage of the opportunity.”

Steiner added: “While there remains more to do, we look forward to making continued progress over the rest of the financial year and beyond, as we build a profitable, cash-generating, technology business”.