In the fourth quarter ended November 30th online grocery retailer Ocado saw its sales grow by 18.6% to £331.9 million, which means that the full year sales climbed by 20.4% to £1,026.5 million.

Tim Steiner, Ocado's chief executive, said: "We are pleased with the continued steady growth in our business against the backdrop of a more competitive grocery market. This performance reflects an increasing number of customers who value the wide range of products, keen prices and great service made possible by Ocado's unique operating model, and further demonstrates the ongoing shift to online grocery shopping.

"We remain committed to constantly improving the quality of the proposition to customers, which we believe will support continued growth, and although we anticipate  the retail environment to remain challenging, we expect to continue growing sales slightly ahead of the online grocery market."