Ahold Net Profit Rises 13%
01 Giugno 2016 - 12:00PM
Dow Jones News
AMSTERDAM—Dutch supermarket operator Royal Ahold NV, on the
verge of completing a merger with Belgium's Delhaize Group,
Wednesday reported improved first-quarter earnings, reflecting an
increase in sales and cost-savings.
Net profit in the first three months of this year rose 13% from
the same period a year earlier to €241 million ($268.3 million),
while the underlying profit margin rose to 3.8% from 3.5%. Sales
rose 4% to €11.8 billion, driven by last year's acquisition of 25
A&P stores in the New York region and strong online sales in
the Netherlands.
Shares in Ahold rose nearly 3% in Amsterdam in early trade.
The results come as Ahold is about to close its all-share merger
with Delhaize in a tie-up that will create one of the largest
grocery chains in the U.S. and Europe, with more than 6,500 stores
and 375,000 employees.
The companies, which have a combined market value of around
€28.5 billion, hope that a combination will strengthen their buying
clout and reduce costs as they are grappling with competition from
discounters and upscale chains on both continents.
The tie-up still needs approval from the U.S. Federal Trade
Commission, which is likely to require divestitures in some areas
before the merger is completed, Ahold Chief Executive Dick Boer
said in an analyst call.
"We are in close contact with several buyers," said Mr. Boer,
adding he still expects to the deal to close on schedule by the
middle of this year.
In the U.S., the merger will combine Ahold's Stop & Shop and
Giant stores with Delhaize's Food Lion and Hannaford chains and
create a major player on the East Coast. Since there is little
geographical overlap, Ahold has said it expects only a limited
number of required disposals.
Write to Maarten van Tartwijk at maarten.vantartwijk@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 01, 2016 05:45 ET (09:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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