Ocado Share News (OCDO)

LONDON, March 20 (Reuters) - British online supermarketOcado said on Tuesday trading in the final week of itsfirst quarter was dented by the snow storms that blastedBritain, though it did meet its latest guidance.

The cold snap, which had arrived from Siberia in early Marchand was dubbed the Beast from the East, badly hit Britain'stransport networks.

Ocado, which warned on annual earnings last month, saidretail revenue rose 11.7 percent to 363.4 million pounds ($510.2million) in the 13 weeks to March 4, its fiscal first quarter.

That compares with growth in Ocado's 2016-17 year of 12.4percent and guidance for the 2017-18 year of growth of 10-15percent as it increases distribution capacity and grows marketshare.

Ocado said the hit from the weather disruption wasequivalent to nearly 1 percent of sales in the quarter.

In December Ocado blamed a shortage of drivers for a slowdown in sales growth in the fourth quarter of its 2016-17 year.

The group, which has helped to drive online grocery shoppingin Britain, has been trying to sell its proprietary technologyto international supermarkets in the past few years, with newdeals seen as key to its stock market valuation.

Investors' patience was finally rewarded with the signing ofthree international partnership agreements over the last year,doubling Ocado's share price.

In January Ocado signed a partnership deal with Sobeysin Canada, while last November it sealed one withGroup Casino in France.

However, last month it warned that 2017-18 earnings wouldreflect the costs of developing customer fulfilment centres(CFCs) in Erith, south of London, and Andover, southern England,and work to enhance its technology platform.

Prior to Tuesday's statement analysts were on averageforecasting core earnings for 2017-18 of 87.1 million pounds, upfrom 84.3 million pounds in 2016-17.

"We remain confident that our Ocado Solutions business willbe able to do further deals with the momentum of new signingsbuilding over time," said Chief Executive Tim Steiner.($1 = 0.7123 pounds)(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton and PaulSandle)