Member Info for PI_Winner

Couple of key points that might be missed re Sobeys.

They only paused the 4th CFC it was NOT binned..........and they are now currently focusing their joint resources into driving order and sales volumes across the current network. This currently comprises 3 live CFCs in major Canadian markets, across Toronto, Montreal, and Calgary, and manual fulfilment solutions in nearly 100 stores.

Ocado's financial guidance remained unchanged as a result.

Ocado and Sobeys have agreed to end terms related to mutual exclusivity.....meaning Ocado can now also target Loblaw and Metro in Canada.............Loblaw (which operates Loblaw's stores), Empire (which operates Sobeys stores) and Metro make up nearly 60% of the grocery market share while Walmart and Costco make up much of the rest.

The sell off at the time was not justified and was manipulated by hedge funds and stop losses.

However the good news is that it is now history and fully expect further material strategic updates from Ocado in due course....Aeon is only the start of the new dawn. Ocado will re-rate. GLA.

Ocado Group plc ("Ocado") and AEON have announced the continued expansion of their partnership, with plans to construct a third Customer Fulfilment Centre ("CFC") in Kuki-Miyashiro, the Saitama prefecture of Japan.

​Ocado entered an exclusive partnership with AEON in 2019 to develop the online operations of the AEON NEXT grocery business using the Ocado Smart Platform ("OSP"). The new facility, to go live in 2027, was announced as AEON celebrated the first anniversary of the official launch of AEON NEXT's online grocery delivery brand.

The first CFC in Honda-cho, Midori-ku, Chiba-city opened in July 2023, serving customers in the Kanto region. This will be followed by a second CFC based in Hachioji, due to go live in 2026. The service offers the widest range of products available in the Japanese grocery market, with Ocado's technology enabling world-leading levels of freshness and convenience.

In addition to the network expansion, AEON will also upgrade its live operations with the latest Ocado technologies including On-Grid Robotic Pick ("OGRP"). This will bring increasing levels of labour productivity to AEON's operations, enabling them to further reduce the cost to serve and address long term challenges of labour availability in Japan.

Further CFCs are planned to expand AEON's existing ecosystem.

Tim Steiner, CEO of Ocado Group, said:

"Today is an exciting moment for AEON and Ocado's relationship as we deepen our already strong partnership."

"As demonstrated by the state-of-the-art CFC live in Honda, Ocado is helping AEON NEXT to provide a seamless online grocery experience to customers across Tokyo. We can't wait to bring this service to even more customers in the years to come."

Shorts threw another circa £3M at Ocado on wednesday this week.....circa £9M in total Monday - Wednesday this week, without the impact desired.......excellent sign for PI's that there is sustained buying pressure against the short attack and shorts desire to continually rein the SP in.....where would the SP be this week without the attack???

Given the interest rate charges for the hedge funds it is 100% not sustainable.....seems like they are getting desperate pre results on the 16th......wonder why they are worried????

Money pouring into UK assets ahead of Labour victory, investors say at the same time, City investors said a landslide victory for Keir Starmer in the general election tomorrow could hand Britain a stability premium in global markets, boosting the pound, shares and investment in the UK at a time of mounting political turmoil elsewhere.

In sharp contrast with Conservative party warnings over the dangers of a large Labour majority, analysts in the City of London said the prospect of a resounding mandate for Starmer’s party could secure Britain’s “safe haven” status among investors in an increasingly volatile world.

Highlighting mounting political instability on both sides of the Atlantic and the meltdown in financial markets triggered by Liz Truss’s mini-budget – when investors spoke of a “moron premium” for Britain – City experts said a clear outcome on Thursday could return Britain to a steadier footing.

Nuwan Goonetilleke, the head of shareholder assets at Phoenix Group, which manages more than £280bn in investments, said money was already pouring into London-listed assets in anticipation of a Labour victory.

The UK is really being seen not just as a safe haven, but the safest of havens – especially in Europe.

City analysts said a Labour landslide could pave the way for global investment in Britain after years of political and economic uncertainty since the 2016 Brexit referendum under the Tories, which had clouded the prospects for international investors.

If you have ever worked for a FTSE.....months before a trading update....group corporate affairs are tracking strategic updates that could dovetail into the trading update. If something is executed in advance then it has to be released to the market as per RNS rules....but it is amazing how many strategic updates form part of FTSE 100/250 trading updates as they time execution for release in alignment with the trading update. GLA.

Shorts are struggling in my view to reduce the price further. They have borrowed circa £6M worth of shares in the last 2 days alone and it has not had the desired effect. Borrowing costs for shorts have increased significantly. Buying back the shares loaned must be on the cards given the SP.

Rationale for shorts and investors to mull over.....

Change in government will bring stability and investment to the market.

We know Ocado is the fastest growing retailer in 2024

Technology - have they got new business acquired - not long to wait, we will find out 16th July

UK and US interest rates will start to fall in H2

Economy is starting to turn the corner

Have invested significantly at the current SP prices....no brainer from my perspective.

The external macros are all in EZY favour. Could easily move to £5.20+ in the short term. GLA

MaryBr190.....somebody that continually states they are successful is often not. I am not an avid user of these boards...but you are.....and I notice a lot of doubters in terms of what you preach....admittedly me as well.

Anyway I am London based but I have a house in Belfast. To put an end to the doubting I am happy to meet at some point in a general merchants of your choice (coffee house) my treat and you can share with me your successes on a laptop and to be only fair I can flick up my trades and I can confirm to the boards whether you are 100% truthful in that you always sell at the highest high and buy at the lowest low.

The strapline for me in the RNS is........JD Sports Fashion outperformed the market delivering organic sales growth of 9%

Happy with the update....

Financial highlights

· Organic sales growth* of 9.0%, Premium Sports Fashion organic sales growth* of 10.9% and like-for-like sales growth* of 3.8%

· Revenue growth* of 2.7% to £10,397.2m, after disposal impact

· Gross margin of 48.0%, down slightly on prior period reflecting elevated market promotional activity during peak trading

· Profit before tax and adjusting items* for the 53-week period of £917.2m down 7.5%, reflecting continued investment in people, stores, systems & supply chain

· Profit before tax, for the 53-week period, of £811.2m, up 66.7% due to a reduction of £398.7m in adjusting items*

· Adjusted basic earnings per share* down 9.1%

· Net cash before lease liabilities* of £1,032.0m, down on prior period due mainly to acquisitions of ISRG & MIG, & increased capital expenditure* of £539.7m, in line with our strategy & delivering strong returns

· Proposed final dividend of 0.6p; total proposed dividend up 12.5% to 0.9p

· Q1 performance in line with expectations and maintaining full year profit before tax and adjusting items guidance of £955m-£1,035m

Given recent result days......it is natural for PI's to be in 2 minds to stick or twist.....but I am hopeful the bad news is now history and the RNS has material positive news tomorrow. We know the forecasted guidance is on track....so hoping for a gem or 2 that the exec like to keep for results day. GLA

Always a little resistance when SP's hover around big round numbers.....psychological more than anything....but the momentum is on the upside and will breakthrough in due course. GLA

Stumpy - When you invest in a share, you need to do your research beforehand as you will know and have conviction and patience in what you invest in. I have been trading for years and I have made a significant investment in Ocado....I am a couple of percent above breakeven currently. I am 100% convinced that PI's will be rewarded handsomely in due course. if you have a different opinion on the future trajectory of the SP - no problem. I relay the FACTS and then overlay that with my opinion. GLA

The hedge funds have invested circa £300M in attempting to lower the SP. Has it been successful....you would say no over recent weeks....which is good news for PI's.

Positive material RNS news has not really materialised in recent months but the hedge funds have failed to bring the SP to its knees. Realistically it cannot continue for the shorts to continue to increase at the same degree, remember shorts pay interest on borrowing shares to short before buying them back.

But hedge funds....hedge....they have a short and a long to minimise the risk.

My gut is that material positive news for Ocado PI's is coming.....the economy is picking up, retail interest rates have significantly decreased, Ocado retail is the market leader in growth, the SP is at bargain prices, the global pharmaceuticals, the Amazons etc M&A departments must be looking closely at making a move. GLA

I would not rule out a bid from Amazon as they do not currently have the technology that Ocado offers which would drive cost efficiencies globally for Amazon and would probably attain a ROI within a couple of years given the size of their operations.

However In terms of bids the more likely scenarios at the moment are:-

M&S acquire Ocado's 50% stake in the retail joint venture

Kroger make a bid for Ocado's technology solution

A pharmaceutical giant make a bid for Ocado's technology solution

Speculating but me thinks

Either there is an agreement on the final rebate payment from M&S and an RNS is coming

There is a takeover bid where Mark Kleinman @Sky has the scoop

GLA

In conjunction with a rate cut strongly forecasted now for June and further cuts in H2 this all helps inject a strong tailwind into the Ocado SP. GLA.

ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown has told Radio 4’s Today programme that the 0.6% growth recorded in the last quarter is stronger than people expected.

Compared to recent figures, we last saw growth this strong in the last quarter of 2021, McKeown explains.

McKeown pointed to the pick-up in service sector growth, but also pointed out that construction shrank – due to a decline in new work.

McKeown says:

“After two quarters of contraction, the UK economy returned to positive growth in the first three months of this year.

“There was broad-based strength across the service industries with retail, public transport and haulage, and health all performing well. Car manufacturers also had a good quarter. These were only a little offset by another weak quarter for construction.

Looking forward to the M&S results on the 22nd May (10 working days). I am hoping there is an amicable agreement to the final rebate payment to Ocado.....it has all gone very quiet from the start of the year. GLA

Lonlonuk aka shorter...you are clueless....given daily volume and size of trades you cannot pump and dump a FTSE 100 you clown....back to the AIM stocks for pumping and dumping. *Clue because you are clueless....search for news released in the US today.