Ocado reported a 12% uplift in sales for the first half today and forecast difficulties in the third qaurter due to disruption caused by the Jubilee celebration and the Olympics. The results were met with concern by commentators.

“Ocado is losing market share online and the competitive environment is likely to get tougher.The prime reason for this appears to have been a difficult Q3. Asda published its Q1 sales numbers recently and we estimate that online food grew by more than 20%. Sainsbury’s online food business is growing at 20%; Tesco’s at about 12% and Waitrose.com increased sales by 46% in its most recent weekly figures. This means that Ocado is losing market share. Why is this? We think that it is because its competitors have sharpened up their act; delivery windows are narrowing, product quality is improving and substitutions are decreasing, or getting better. We don’t expect that these trends will reverse.” – Philip Dorgan, Panmure Gordon

“In our view, the disruptive impact from the Jubilee, uncertainty on the potential impact from the Olympics, and the continued cautious trading environment is likely to weigh on the stock despite capacity expansion, range expansion and service level improvements being broadly on track.” - Karen Hooi, Goldman Sachs

“There is a general slowdown in sales growth and worryingly they are not growing as fast as their competitors which is a concern given the thin profits they are making and to ensure top line sales growth. They had some capacity last year and that was holding them back so perhaps there’s room for improvement. However, they are not growing as fast as Sainsbury’s online business. When they open the new centre in Dordon they will have to do a lot of marketing to highlight the Ocado name which is well known in the south but not elsewhere. Ocaod will have to invest in marketing and there’s already a coupon war going on that’s unsustainable.” – David Gray, Planet Retail

“Looking ahead, the third quarter is looking slightly more uncertain. Ocado experienced disruption from the Jubilee events, and can expect the Olympics games will also have some adverse impact on delivery fulfilment. In relation, it faces intensifying competitive threats, as the market becomes characterised by even deeper and more regular promotional activity. Longer term, in addition to improving efficiency at its main Hatfield distribution centre, Ocado will benefit from the inevitable economies of scale improvements gained from its second distribution site, due to open in Warwickshire in 2013. However, question marks persist in relation to the potential for Ocado’s model to achieve profitability.” – Joe Robinson, Conlumino