Dutch-Belgian supermarket giant’s profit soars in Q4
Ahold Delhaize credited a strong holiday season and a reduction in income tax expenses for strong fourth quarter profits.
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2017, net sales increased 1.6% to 15.8 billion euros ($19.3 billion U.S. dollars). Meanwhile, net profit soared by more than 300% to 744 million euros ($909 million).
"In the Netherlands, the supermarkets and our online businesses showed strong sales performance, supported by successful commercial campaigns and a strong holiday season,” said Dick Boer, CEO of Ahold Delhaize. "In 2017, we delivered a strong free cash flow of 1.9 billion euros, allowing us to continue to invest in our store network, grow our omnichannel offering and further develop digital capabilities.”
For example, the company increased net consumer online sales by 23.2% at constant exchange rates. For the year, the company hit 2.8 billion euros ($3.42 billion) in online consumer sales, and is on track to reach nearly 5 billion euros ($6.10 billion) by 2020.
“We are expanding our digital capabilities in all our brands, and are rolling out successful customer loyalty programs,” he added. “In 2017, we sent out close to 2.5 billion personalized offers, which we expect to increase significantly in 2018.”
The year also marked a full 12 months of the company operating as Ahold Delhaize, following the integration of the company’s new U.S. division, Ahold Delhaize USA, which launched on Jan. 1, 2018. The division is the parent company for all of Ahold’s U.S. brands, including Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Giant, Hannaford, Giant/Martin's and Peapod, as well as Retail Business Services, the U.S. shared services company providing support to the brands.
“With the integration substantially completed, the synergies are driving strong margin delivery in the U.S.,” said Boer. “We delivered synergies ahead of schedule and continued to show underlying operating margin expansion with stable or increasing market share in our major markets.”
The supermarket company also proposed a 0.63 euros (0.77 cents) dividend to shareholders, an increase of 10.5% compared to 2016.
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2017, net sales increased 1.6% to 15.8 billion euros ($19.3 billion U.S. dollars). Meanwhile, net profit soared by more than 300% to 744 million euros ($909 million).
"In the Netherlands, the supermarkets and our online businesses showed strong sales performance, supported by successful commercial campaigns and a strong holiday season,” said Dick Boer, CEO of Ahold Delhaize. "In 2017, we delivered a strong free cash flow of 1.9 billion euros, allowing us to continue to invest in our store network, grow our omnichannel offering and further develop digital capabilities.”
For example, the company increased net consumer online sales by 23.2% at constant exchange rates. For the year, the company hit 2.8 billion euros ($3.42 billion) in online consumer sales, and is on track to reach nearly 5 billion euros ($6.10 billion) by 2020.
“We are expanding our digital capabilities in all our brands, and are rolling out successful customer loyalty programs,” he added. “In 2017, we sent out close to 2.5 billion personalized offers, which we expect to increase significantly in 2018.”
The year also marked a full 12 months of the company operating as Ahold Delhaize, following the integration of the company’s new U.S. division, Ahold Delhaize USA, which launched on Jan. 1, 2018. The division is the parent company for all of Ahold’s U.S. brands, including Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Giant, Hannaford, Giant/Martin's and Peapod, as well as Retail Business Services, the U.S. shared services company providing support to the brands.
“With the integration substantially completed, the synergies are driving strong margin delivery in the U.S.,” said Boer. “We delivered synergies ahead of schedule and continued to show underlying operating margin expansion with stable or increasing market share in our major markets.”
The supermarket company also proposed a 0.63 euros (0.77 cents) dividend to shareholders, an increase of 10.5% compared to 2016.