Ocado sees return to annual earnings as sales leap

Business | Business News Online supermarket Ocado has said it returned to annual earnings after seeing sales growth ramp up at its year end. Ocado Group’s retail arm, which is run as a joint venture with Marks & Spencer, revealed sales lifted 10.9% to £609.4 million in the three months to November 26, up from growth of 7.2% in the previous quarter. The firm said it would meet its forecast to return to earnings for the full year to November 26 after the fourth-quarter performance saw annual sales rise 7% overall. The business has been looking to boost trade after slumping to a half-year loss of £2.5 million, by cutting its own costs…