Last checked at 
* Ocado Retail is JV between Ocado Group and M&S
* Q4 revenue down 3.4%
* JV had 1,200 staff vacancies at start of quarter
* Ocado shares up 9.6%, buoyed by patent victory in U.S.
(Adds detail, Ocado Retail CFO comments, shares)
By James Davey
LONDON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - British online supermarket Ocado
Retail, a 50:50 joint venture between Ocado Group and
Marks & Spencer, on Tuesday reported a 3.9% fall in
revenue in its latest quarter, with its performance held back by
labour shortages.
Shares in Ocado were up 9.6% at 1022 GMT however as the
sales fall was outweighed by news overnight that Ocado had won a
patent infringement lawsuit filed by Norwegian rival AutoStore
Holdings Ltd at the International Trade Commission
(ITC).
Shares in M&S were down 1.1%.
British retailers are grappling with delays in international
supply chains that are being compounded by labour shortages in
domestic transport and warehousing networks, with a shortage of
drivers particularly acute.
Ocado Retail said revenue was 547.8 million pounds ($723.7
million) in its fourth quarter to Nov. 28, down from 570.1
million pounds in the same quarter last year.
Revenue growth was impacted by a high degree of staff
vacancies at the beginning of the period. The JV had around
1,200 roles to fill, equivalent to about 10% of its target level
of staff.
"We have halved this number to around 650 vacancies thanks
to temporary sign-on incentives and increased hourly rates in
certain locations," finance chief Niall McBride told reporters.
"We're getting closer to normal levels, there's still more
to do."
The JV's average customer orders per week increased 8.5% to
375,100 versus the prior year, driven by a 22% increase in
active customers to 832,000.
However, average basket value fell 12% to 118 pounds as many
consumers returned to the office and spent less time at home.
The venture said the participation of M&S products in orders
continued to be strong, at nearly 30% of the basket.
It also highlighted cost inflation due to nationwide utility
price increases and dry ice shortages.
Ocado's revenue had fallen 10.6% in its third quarter, hurt
by a July fire at its warehouse in Erith, southeast London,
which disrupted operations.
The JV said the 2020-21 outturn was expected to be in line
with guidance.
It forecast a return to revenue growth in 2022 at the top of
the historic pre-COVID-19 range of 10-15%, and plans investments
of around 50 million pounds in 2022 to support growth.
Following a year of investment in 2021-22, the JV is
targeting a rebuild in margin towards 2020-21 levels.
McBride said the emergence of the new coronavirus variant
Omicron had not had a significant impact on consumer behaviour,
though traffic to the website had increased.
($1 = 0.7569 pounds)
(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Kate Holton, Louise
Heavens and Jan Harvey)
