Ocado Retail, the joint venture between Ocado Group and Marks & Spencer (M&S), has posted a 15.5% jump in Q3 revenue to £658m.

The group’s latest trading statement, covering the 13-week period to 1 September, also revealed a 15.4% year-on-year increase in total items.

Average orders per week have also grown by 14.7% to over 437,000, having sat at 381,000 in Q3 last year.

As a result, Ocado Retail has increased its full-year guidance to “low double-digit growth”, which was previously expected to be “mid-high single digits growth”.

The retailer confirmed that there is no change to the EBITDA margin guidance that was issued in its half-year results in July.

Ocado Retail’s CEO, Hannah Gibson, said: “Our strategy remains focused on giving our customers unbeatable choice, unrivalled service and reassuringly good value. We're seeing the momentum of this, with more customers shopping with us more often, getting even better service at better value.

“We're pleased with the progress we're making and excited about how much more there is to deliver.”

Senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, Matt Britzman, added: “Ocado has raised its sales guidance for the year after a strong three quarters from its grocery joint venture with M&S.

“Sales are now expected to grow by low double-digit levels over the year as investment in a wider range of products, more delivery slots, and improving value propositions are keeping customers coming back for more.”

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