Supermarket group Ahold Delhaize posts Q2 margin beat, shares rally
Q2 underlying operating margin 4.2% vs forecast 3.8%
Q2 sales up 1.2% to 22.35 bln euros vs forecast 22.14 bln
Shares up 4.7%
Updates with underlying operating income in paragraph 3, shares, CEO comments from phone interview in paragraphs 8-9
By Stephanie Hamel and Charlotte Eugenie Yvette Bawol
Aug 7 (Reuters) -Supermarket group Ahold Delhaize AD.AS beat second-quarter core profit margin expectations on Wednesday, supported by solid sales in its U.S. and European markets and cost control.
The group, which operates the Stop & Shop, Giant, Food Lion and Hannaford chains in the U.S. and the Albert Heijn and Delhaize chains in the Netherlands and Belgium, reported an underlying operating margin of 4.2% for April-June, topping the 3.9% expected by analysts polled by the company.
Underlying operating income rose by 3.2% to 933 million euros ($1.02 billion), beating expectations of 888 million, while sales rose 1.2% to 22.35 billion euros, above an expected 22.14 billion.
Ahold Delhaize shares were up 4.7% at 0832 GMT.
"We are starting to benefit from structural changes in our business related to the Belgium Future Plan and cost savings initiatives in Europe and the U.S. that were initiated over the past 12 months," CEO Frans Muller said in a statement.
Muller added that the underlying operating margin positioned Ahold Delhaize well to continue growth investments, while describing volume trends as "encouraging" in both regions.
The company pointed to increased promotional opportunities supported by vendors, as well as its broad assortment of private label products that appeal to cash-strapped customers.
"We see now a lot of support from our manufacturing partners to invest more in trade rates in the U.S. and to invest more in promo to drive volume," Muller told Reuters in an interview.
Muller also highlighted that the company's private labels - its stores' own brands - make up for above 30% of sales in the U.S. and more than half of the Benelux countries' sales.
In the U.S., where more than half of the company's revenue is generated, major retailers including Target TGT.N and Walmart WMT.N have been pushing to keep prices on essentials low as many Americans shun big-ticket spending and turn to discount shopping in the face of sticky inflation.
As part of its restructuring efforts, Ahold Delhaize announced in July the closure of 32 Stop & Shop stores in the U.S. by year-end.
The group said it estimated the net impact of such closures on sales would be 150-250 million euros in the third quarter.
The company reiterated its full-year guidance for an underlying operating margin of at least 4%.
($1 = 0.9154 euros)
Reporting by Stéphanie Hamel and Charlotte Bawol; Editing by Michael Perry, Mark Potter and Christina Fincher
Aset Terkait
Berita Terbaru
Pengungkapan: Entitas XM Group menyediakan layanan khusus eksekusi dan akses ke Fasilitas Trading Online kami, yang memungkinkan Anda untuk melihat dan/atau menggunakan konten yang tersedia pada atau melalui situs, yang tidak untuk mengubah atau memperluas, serta tidak mengubah atau memperluas hal tersebut. Akses dan penggunaan ini selalu sesuai dengan: (i) Syarat dan Ketentuan; (ii) Peringatan Risiko; dan (iii) Pengungkapan Penuh. Oleh karena itu, konten disediakan hanya sebagai informasi umum. Anda juga harus ketahui bahwa konten Fasilitas Trading Online kami bukan sebagai ajakan atau tawaran untuk untuk melakukan transaksi apa pun di pasar finansial. Trading di pasar finansial mana pun melibatkan tingkat risiko yang signifikan pada modal Anda.
Semua materi yang diterbitkan di Fasilitas Trading Online kami hanya untuk tujuan edukasi/informasi dan tidak boleh mengandung nasihat dan rekomendasi finansial, pajak investasi atau trading, catatan harga trading kami, penawaran, permintaan, transaksi dalam instrumen finansial apa pun atau promo finansial untuk Anda yang tidak diminta.
Konten pihak ketiga apa pun, serta konten yang disiapkan oleh XM, seperti opini, berita, riset, analisis, harga, informasi lain atau link ke situs pihak ketiga yang tersedia "sebagaimana adanya", sebagai komentar pasar umum dan bukan menjadi nasihat investasi. Sejauh konten apa pun ditafsirkan sebagai penelitian investasi, Anda harus memperhatikan dan menerima bahwa konten tersebut tidak dimaksudkan dan belum disiapkan sesuai dengan persyaratan hukum yang dirancang untuk mempromosikan kemandirian riset investasi dan dengan demikian akan dianggap sebagai komunikasi pemasaran di bawah hukum dan peraturan yang relevan. Mohon dipastikan bahwa Anda telah membaca dan memahami Notifikasi pada Riset Investasi Non-Independen dan Peringatan Risiko kami mengenai informasi di atas, yang dapat diakses disini.
