FTSE 250 listed online grocer Ocado has reported a 13 per cent rise in revenue to 678.6m pounds in the 53 weeks to December 2nd, preliminary results from the company have shown.

The web-based fruit and vegetable seller reported that gross sales had risen 13.9% to £731.9m while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) - a frequently used measure of a company's operating performance- jumped 23.9% to £34.5m.

The group's adjusted pre-tax profit rose by £4.2m to £1.8m and net debt climbed 187.5% to £55.2m.

Tim Steiner, Chief Executive Officer of Ocado, said: "We continued to achieve double digit sales growth during 2012 with increasing rates of sales and new customer momentum as we moved into 2013. This has been driven by further improvements to our core offer to customers - better value, wider ranges and enhanced service.

"Shopping online for groceries is clearly of increasing importance to consumers. In 2013, we will continue to improve the attractiveness of Ocado to customers and we shall substantially increase our capacity with the opening of our second fulfilment centre, creating over 1,000 jobs in the Midlands."

MF

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