Last checked at 
* First half retail sales top 1 bln stg
* Fees invoiced from international partners up 58%
* Core earnings down 36% due to investment
* Has cash of 2.3 bln stg
* Shares up 75% over last year
(Adds detail, CEO comment, shares)
By James Davey
LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - Online grocery shopping will
double its share of the UK market over the new few years,
building on a huge increase during the coronavirus lockdown,
internet supermarket and technology group Ocado
forecast on Tuesday.
Industry data shows online orders have surged to account for
13% of all UK grocery spending from 7% before the pandemic.
"We'll see another doubling of the market in the next few
years," Ocado CEO Tim Steiner told reporters.
He said once (penetration) levels of 20-30% were reached the
economics of stores would be challenged. "You'll then see a
continued channel shift to significantly greater market share
and ultimately to be the mainstream market share."
Ocado shares have risen 75% over the last year, giving it a
market value of 15.3 billion pounds ($19.2 billion) - more than
three times that of Sainsbury's, Britain's second
biggest supermarket group by sales.
The stock was down 1.2% at 0950 GMT.
Revenue at Ocado's retail business - now a 50/50 joint
venture with Marks & Spencer - soared 27.2% to 1.02
billion pounds in its first half to May 31, with growth topping
40% by the end of the second quarter. Core retail earnings
(EBITDA) jumped 87.3% to 45.7 million pounds.
"What this shows is that our model for online grocery is
adaptable, flexible and sustainably profitable, even in the most
difficult of circumstances in contrast to most other operating
models," said Steiner.
Ocado said fees invoiced to overseas technology partners
rose 58.2% to 73.7 million pounds as its international roll-out
gained pace with the opening of its first robotic distribution
warehouses for Casino in Paris and Sobeys in Toronto.
However, group core earnings fell 36% to 19.8 million
pounds, reflecting more investment in the technology business.
Having raised 1 billion pounds last month, Ocado ended the
half with cash of 2.3 billion pounds.
($1 = 0.7989 pounds)
(Reporting by James Davey, editing by Louise Heavens and Mark
Potter)
