Ahold Delhaize reports increased sales in U.S. for fourth quarter

Ahold Delhaize, which operates Ahold Delhaize USA, reported U.S. sales (including online) of $11.17 billion for the 2018 fourth quarter compared to $10.89 billion a year earlier. Ahold Delhaize USA, based in Salisbury, N.C., includes the banners Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Hannaford, Giant, Giant/Martin’s and Peapod.

"In the U.S. we continued to see good momentum in the financial performance across the brands,” said Frans Muller, president and CEO of the Netherlands-based company, one of the world’s largest retail food groups in both supermarkets and e-commerce. “We are excited about the program to refresh the look and feel of our Stop & Shop brand and the rapid expansion of our click and collect options for our customers. In addition, Food Lion reported its 25th quarter of positive comparable sales and volumes, supported by the rollout of its Easy, Fresh and Affordable program, an initiative to simplify shopping for customers while keeping prices affordable.”

Net sales for the quarter were $18.7 billion, up 3.0 percent at constant exchange rates. Net consumer online sales were up 25 percent at constant exchange rates

Overall, Ahold Delhaize reported a 29.6 percent growth of full-year underlying earnings per share from continuing operations at constant exchange rates.