Ocado online grocery delivery firm reports first profit

Online grocery delivery company Ocado has reported its first profit for the final quarter of last year.

The company, which mainly delivers Waitrose products, reported a pre-tax profit of £300,000 for the period.

However, for 2010 as a whole Ocado made a loss of £12.2m, including £3.5m costs related to last year's share flotation.

Ocado, which was formed in 2000 by three former Goldman Sachs bankers, joined the stock market in July last year.

Its shares floated at 180p each, well below the price initially hoped for, although they have since risen.

Following the release of the results, Ocado's shares jumped 5% to 229p, before shedding some of that gain to 220p.

The company said in a statement that growth had continued into the new financial year and that gross sales had risen by 25%.