Last checked at 
LONDON (Alliance News) - Ocado Group PLC on Tuesday said that a fire broke out at its customer fulfilment centre in Andover, south west England, causing damage to some of the equipment in the online grocer's automated warehouse.
"The fire brigade is on site. All relevant safety measures were carried out as planned and no one suffered injury," Ocado added.
The fire and the measures taken to contain it "appear to have affected a proportion of the mechanical handling equipment and some of the grid", the company said. Ocado will assess the damages caused and make further updates if appropriate, it said.
Some orders had already left the facility and will be delivered as planned. However, others will not be completed as operations at the centre have been suspended.
Ocado shares were trading up 2.6% at 1,018.00 pence each, having reported its annual earnings earlier Tuesday.
The online grocer reported a widened annual loss, hampered by higher costs related to investment in its technology and in the robotic warehouses.
For the financial year to December 2, Ocado's pretax loss came in at GBP44.4 million, widened from GBP8.3 million a year prior. Meanwhile, revenue rose by 9.9% to GBP1.59 billion on the back of an increase in average number of orders a week and fees from partnerships.
Looking ahead, Ocado said that if economic conditions "remain broadly stable" it expects to achieve retail revenue growth of between 10 to 15% as it prepares to increase its fulfilment capacity and grow market share in the UK.
Retail Ebitda is expected to grow, as the increased use of automated warehouses, such as the one in Andover, brings in cost savings and synergies, Ocado said.
However, due to accounting rule IFRS15, Solutions revenue will only be recognised once a customer's first customer fulfilment centre is opened, but build costs will be recognised before, Ocado noted.
Therefore, despite forecasting Solutions revenue to rise, the company expects a decline in Ebitda due to the GBP15 million to GBP20 million in additional operating costs to prepare the centres.
