Ocado has claimed a rare financial win after US grocery giant Kroger agreed to pay the British retail-tech group $350 million (£276m) in compensation, even as it scrapped another of the automated warehouses built around Ocado’s much-touted robotic fulfilment technology.
Shares in the FTSE 250 company jumped as much as 16% in early trading on Friday before settling nearly 7% higher, offering brief respite for a business that has seen its market valuation collapse from £22 billion during the pandemic boom to barely £1.6 billion today.
The payout follows Kroger’s decision to cancel the opening of a fourth Ocado-powered customer fulfilment centre in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of two facilities previously scheduled for 2026. It comes only weeks after Kroger said it would shut three other automated warehouses because they had “not met financial expectations”.
Kroger will proceed with five remaining sites, plus a sixth still due to open in Phoenix next year, but the retrenchment has deepened concerns about Ocado’s ability to scale its technology in the world’s largest grocery market.
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