Ahold U.S. thrives in Hurricane Sandy's wake

AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands — Dutch retailer Ahold reported that sales at its U.S. operations rose 4.3% to $6.1 billion during the fourth quarter, thanks to efforts to keep stores open during Hurricane Sandy.

Identical-store sales for U.S. stores rose 2.4%, and comparable-store sales were up 2.8% during the fourth quarter.

Net sales at U.S. stores for the year increased 3.1% to $25.8 billion. Idents rose 1.4% for the year, while comps were up 1.9%,

The company's U.S. business includes the Stop & Shop, Giant-Landover and Giant-Carlisle supermarket banners and the Peapod online grocery service

Ahold's total company sales for the fourth quarter rose 7.5% to $10.4 billion.