Ocado Sinks as Cost-of-Living Crisis Hits M&S Grocery Venture

Eric Pfanner, Bloomberg News

A driver for Ocado Group Plc delivers groceries in the Bow district of London, U.K., on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020. Covid-19 lockdown enabled online and app-based grocery delivery service providers to make inroads with customers they had previously struggled to recruit, according the Consumer Radar report by BloombergNEF. , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Ocado Group Plc shares fell after the UK online grocer cut the sales growth target for its joint venture with Marks & Spencer Group Plc, citing the country’s cost-of-living squeeze.

Ocado Retail now expects growth for the 2022 fiscal year in the low single digits rather than around 10% guided previously, according to a statement Wednesday.

The shares fell as much as 8% early Wednesday in London.

Ocado flourished during Covid lockdowns as more consumers shopped online from home. With shoppers returning to stores and the higher cost of energy and other staples squeezing spending power, performance has eased. The guidance for sales growth around 10% at Ocado Retail was already reduced from a previous expectation in the mid-teen percentages.

In addition to the venture with M&S, Ocado operates a growing technology licensing business that develops automated warehouses for other grocers.

Separately, M&S on Wednesday warned that the cost-of-living crisis and a full exit from Russia will prevent its profit from rising this year.