Ocado shares rise on sales growth report Shares in Ocado rose nearly 6 per cent after the online grocer said it expected quarterly sales growth to have accelerated in the first months of this year. The company said it expected "year-on-year gross sales growth [to] be approximately 13 per cent" for the 12 weeks to May 13, an increase from 10.9 per cent in the previous quarter. Ocado said it was "encouraged by the progress of the business so far this year." Shares in the company closed up 5.9 per cent at 107.8p on Wednesday. The news offered some relief after Ocado reported a slowdown in sales towards the end of last year, with a rise in its final quarter of 10.8 per cent, compared with 16.6 per cent for the 12-month period overall. The grocer, which floated at 180p a share almost two years ago, sought to provide further reassurance to investors that it has ironed out problems at its Hatfield distribution centre, saying that operational performance at the facility had improved and that it "is now operating at record levels of capacity." Capacity constraints at the facility, which forced it to employ additional staff, were blamed for a profit warning last December amid slowing sales and rising costs. Those problems pushed the group to a £2.4m pre-tax loss for the 12 months to November 27. Ocado plans to open a second distribution centre in Dordon, Warwickshire, next year. "Given the scope and scale of this project, we are encouraged by this," analysts at Numis Securities said, adding that as it would further enhance Ocado's capacity its launch would be "game-changing." Ocado faces intense competition from its bricks and mortar rivals such as Tesco and Waitrose. This has intensified since the middle of last year after the expiry of an exclusivity deal with Waitrose, the grocery arm of the John Lewis Partnership, meaning it can now deliver to customers within the M25.