LONDON (Reuters) - Ocado ( OCDGF ), the British online supermarket and technology group, reported a smaller annual loss and said it was on track to hit its key target of turning cash flow positive in its 2025-26 year.

The group runs an online supermarket in Britain through a joint venture with Marks & Spencer ( MAKSF ), though its value is driven by the sale of its cutting-edge warehouse technology to retailers around the world.

Ocado ( OCDGF ) said on Thursday it had made a pretax loss of 374.3 million pounds ($473.8 million) in the year to Dec. 1 2024, versus a loss of 387 million pounds in 2022-23.

At the core earnings, or adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), level, Ocado's ( OCDGF ) preferred metric, the group made 153.3 million pounds, up from 51.6 million pounds in 2022/23, reflecting an improved performance in both its technology solutions and retail divisions.

Ocado ( OCDGF ) shares are down 33% year-on-year with the market concerned by a slowdown in the rollout of robotic sites for its grocery retail partners and a lack of further technology deals.

Its most important grocery partner, Kroger ( KR ) in the United States, has slowed down its rollout of robotic warehouses, or customer fulfilment centres (CFCs) as Ocado ( OCDGF ) calls them, while its Canadian partner Sobeys has paused the opening of a fourth warehouse.

Ocado ( OCDGF ) said at least seven more CFCs would go live over the next three years.

But it said two of these - CFCs for Kroger ( KR ) in Charlotte and Phoenix - were not now expected to go live until early in its 2025-26 year.

($1 = 0.7900 pounds)