Ahold Delhaize maintains momentum, reporting strong Q3 results and
raising guidance on full-year underlying operating margin, earnings
and free cash flow
- On a two-year comparable sales growth basis**, comparable sales
excluding gas in the U.S. were up 15.3% and in Europe were up 7.3%
in Q3 2021, both of which remain elevated relative to historic
levels.
- Q3 Group net sales were €18.5 billion, up 4.6% at constant
exchange rates.
- In Q3, net consumer online sales grew 29.2% at constant
exchange rates, building on top of the significant 62.6% growth in
Q3 2020.
- Q3 diluted underlying EPS was €0.53, representing an increase
of 8.1% at constant exchange rates versus the prior year. Q3
IFRS-reported operating income was €780 million; Q3
IFRS-reported diluted EPS was €0.51.
- In the U.S., Q3 comparable sales excluding gas grew 2.9%,
while, in Europe, Q3 comparable sales were stable (0.2)%
versus Q3 2020.
- Q3 underlying operating margin was 4.4%.
- Raising 2021 Group underlying margin, underlying EPS and free
cash flow outlook; expect Group underlying operating margin to be
approximately 4.4%, underlying EPS to grow in the low- to mid-20s
range versus 2019, and free cash flow to be approximately €1.7
billion.
** Two-year comparable sales growth is a stack of the comparable
sales growth excluding gasoline in the current year period added to
the comparable sales growth excluding gasoline in the prior year
period. This measure may be helpful to improve the understanding of
trends in periods that are affected by variations in prior-year
growth rates.
Zaandam, the Netherlands, November 10, 2021 – Ahold Delhaize,
one of the world’s largest food retail groups and a leader in both
supermarkets and e-commerce, reports third quarter results
today.
The interim report for the third quarter 2021 can be viewed and
downloaded at www.aholddelhaize.com.
Summary of key financial data
|
Ahold Delhaize Group |
The United States |
Europe |
Ahold Delhaize Group |
The United States |
Europe |
€ million, except per share data |
Q32021 |
% changeconstantrates |
Q32021 |
% changeconstantrates |
Q32021 |
% changeconstantrates |
Q3 YTD 2021 |
% changeconstantrates |
Q3 YTD 2021 |
% changeconstantrates |
Q3 YTD 2021 |
% changeconstantrates |
Net sales |
18,545 |
4.6 |
% |
11,502 |
6.8 |
% |
7,043 |
1.1 |
% |
55,454 |
4.5 |
% |
33,356 |
4.3 |
% |
22,098 |
4.7 |
% |
Comparable sales growth excl. gas |
1.7 |
% |
|
2.9 |
% |
|
(0.2) |
% |
|
2.0 |
% |
|
1.0 |
% |
|
3.4 |
% |
|
Online sales |
1,735 |
30.6 |
% |
757 |
52.9 |
% |
979 |
17.3 |
% |
5,528 |
53.5 |
% |
2,365 |
88.1 |
% |
3,163 |
35.0 |
% |
Net
consumer online sales |
2,295 |
29.2 |
% |
757 |
52.9 |
% |
1,538 |
20.1 |
% |
7,420 |
51.6 |
% |
2,365 |
88.1 |
% |
5,055 |
39.0 |
% |
Operating income |
780 |
251.0 |
% |
534 |
NM1 |
287 |
3.6 |
% |
2,426 |
17.0 |
% |
1,569 |
19.0 |
% |
958 |
6.3 |
% |
Operating margin |
4.2 |
% |
3.0 |
pts |
4.6 |
% |
4.9 |
pts |
4.1 |
% |
0.1 |
pts |
4.4 |
% |
0.5 |
pts |
4.7 |
% |
0.6 |
pts |
4.3 |
% |
0.1 |
pts |
Underlying operating income |
812 |
0.7 |
% |
551 |
1.9 |
% |
303 |
0.9 |
% |
2,493 |
(6.2) |
% |
1,622 |
(14.2) |
% |
972 |
7.1 |
% |
Underlying operating margin |
4.4 |
% |
(0.2) |
pts |
4.8 |
% |
(0.2) |
pts |
4.3 |
% |
— |
pts |
4.5 |
% |
(0.5) |
pts |
4.9 |
% |
(1.1) |
pts |
4.4 |
% |
0.1 |
pts |
Diluted EPS |
0.51 |
575.4 |
% |
|
|
|
|
1.56 |
25.1 |
% |
|
|
|
|
Diluted underlying EPS |
0.53 |
8.1 |
% |
|
|
|
|
1.61 |
(3.0) |
% |
|
|
|
|
Free cash
flow |
516 |
210.9 |
% |
|
|
|
|
1,239 |
(32.2) |
% |
|
|
|
|
- Not meaningful, as operating income in the U.S. was a loss in
Q3 2020.
Comments from Frans Muller, President and CEO of
Ahold Delhaize"Our Q3 results once again showed the
resilience of our business model, with our brands building further
on 2020's COVID-19-related sales gains, as various societies across
our markets reopened in the quarter. During these ever-changing
times, we remain proud of the significant efforts of associates in
all our brands and businesses, who continue to tirelessly serve our
communities. In Europe and the United States, our businesses faced
additional disruptions in Q3 related to the Belgian floods,
tornadoes in the Czech Republic, fires in Greece and Hurricane Ida
in the U.S. We would like to send a special thank you to the
affected associates for their continued dedication to their
communities during these difficult times, and for truly living our
core values.
"We continue to focus on making additional investments to meet
associate, customer and community needs and remain on track to
deliver on our pledge to contribute €20 million in charitable
donations, spread evenly between the U.S. and Europe, during 2021.
We also continued to support COVID-19-related health and safety
measures, which remain a top priority; we invested €66 million in
these measures in Q3. The pandemic has shown us the importance of
maintaining food and product supplies to local communities – a
vital role that we remain focused on fulfilling, together with our
brands and suppliers.
"Q3 Group net sales of €18.5 billion remained elevated; this was
exemplified by the U.S. segment, where comparable sales excluding
gasoline grew 2.9% on top of last year's double-digit growth. Many
consumer habits formed during the COVID-19 pandemic favoring
food-at-home consumption and a focus on healthier eating are
proving resilient, and we continue to make significant investments
to address these trends.
"To meet consumer needs in line with this market dynamic and
support our leading market share positions, our brands continued to
bring new omnichannel solutions to customers. As a result, Q3 net
consumer online sales grew 29.2% at constant currency rates, coming
on top of the very robust growth profile from Q3 2020. And at
bol.com, our online retail platform in the Benelux, net consumer
sales grew by 19.2% in the quarter, which comes on top of 45.6%
growth in Q3 2020. Bol.com's sales from third-party sellers grew
24.6% in the quarter, with nearly 48,000 merchant partners on the
platform.
"We continue to solidify our position as an industry-leading
local omnichannel retailer by executing our strategy to improve
supply chain, advance omnichannel offerings, and enhance
omnichannel productivity. To improve the efficiency of our supply
chain, the U.S. business has now achieved self-distribution for 65%
of center store volume, and remains on schedule to transition to a
fully self-distributed network in 2023.
"To advance omnichannel offerings, Giant Food will soon launch
Ship2me, an online marketplace solution, initially offering an
additional ~40,000 general merchandise and food items. During the
quarter, we also added 102 new click-and-collect locations in the
U.S. and our brands in Greece and the Czech Republic expanded their
online grocery delivery services.
"Improving omnichannel productivity remains a high priority and
we are proud of our new e-commerce fulfillment facility in the
Philadelphia market at The GIANT Company, which opened this week.
The facility is part of our efforts to drive growth and
efficiencies in our online operations. At our Investor Day on
November 15, 2021, you will hear more from us regarding these and
exciting initiatives being undertaken throughout the business in
support of our omnichannel ambitions.
"We also continued along our path as a consolidator of choice
within the food retail industry during Q3 by successfully
completing the acquisition of 38 stores from DEEN in the
Netherlands. We have already remodeled the majority of the acquired
stores, and expect to have all of the stores remodeled by
mid-November.
"Lastly, we continue to make progress in elevating our Healthy
and Sustainable strategy. Our MSCI ESG ranking has been upgraded to
an ‘AA’ ranking from our previous ‘A’ ranking, putting Ahold
Delhaize in the top 25% of all companies measured. The ranking
reflects our efforts to reduce carbon emissions, mitigate risks,
and ensure we have great diverse talent. We are proud of this
achievement as it reflects our ambition to be an ESG leader, and we
will continue to work hard towards this goal. Furthermore, we have
joined the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) Business
Ambition for 1.5°C, a global coalition of UN agencies, business and
industry leaders, in partnership with the Race to Zero. In the
Czech Republic, Albert was recognized as the market leader for its
wide range of organic products. And Delhaize in Belgium has
launched a new subscription service that allows companies to offer
their employees a discount on healthy food products. Furthermore,
bol.com has begun utilizing a multi-packing machine that saves
packaging material, leading to fewer delivery trips and thereby
reducing bol.com's overall CO2 emissions.
"Looking ahead, we are excited to share more on these as well as
other important initiatives and updates to our Leading Together
strategy at our first virtual Investor Day on November 15,
2021."
Q3 Financial highlights
Group highlights
Group net sales were €18.5 billion, up 4.0% at actual exchange
rates, and increased 4.6% at constant exchange rates. Group net
sales were driven by positive contributions from comparable sales
growth excluding gasoline of 1.7% and acquisitions, which were
modestly offset by unfavorable foreign exchange rates.
Q3 comparable sales were negatively impacted by approximately
0.6 percentage points from unfavorable calendar shifts and weather.
On a two-year comparable sales stack basis, growth for the Group of
12.2% in Q3 2021 compares to the 14.4% growth posted for the full
year 2020.
In Q3, Group net consumer online sales grew 29.2% at constant
exchange rates, due to significant growth at bol.com, continued
strong performance across the rest of the online business, and the
FreshDirect acquisition.
In Q3, Group underlying operating margin was 4.4%, down 0.2
percentage points from the prior year at constant exchange rates,
as margins lapped unusually high levels from last year due to
COVID-19. Margins in 2020 benefited largely from higher operating
leverage due to strong sales trends related to COVID-19. In Q3,
Group IFRS-reported operating margin was 4.2%.
Underlying income from continuing operations was
€547 million, up 3.2% in the quarter at actual rates. Ahold
Delhaize's IFRS-reported net income in the quarter was €522
million. Diluted EPS was €0.51 and diluted underlying EPS was
€0.53, up 7.2% at actual currency rates compared to last year's
record Q3 results. Management believes that framing 2021 diluted
underlying EPS growth relative to 2019 (prior to COVID-19) provides
a helpful context for investors. Therefore, compared to Q3 2019,
diluted underlying EPS in the quarter was up by approximately 20%.
In the quarter, 7.7 million own shares were purchased for
€207 million, bringing the total amount to €695 million
through Q3.
U.S. highlights
U.S. net sales increased 6.8% at constant exchange rates and
5.8% at actual exchange rates. U.S. comparable sales excluding
gasoline increased 2.9%, growing on top of 12.4% growth from the
year ago period, as elevated food-at-home demand remained
intact.
Q3 comparable sales were negatively impacted by approximately
0.8 percentage points from an unfavorable calendar shift. On a
two-year comparable sales stack basis, growth was 15.3%, similar to
the 15.8% growth for the full year 2020. Brand performance
continued to be led by Food Lion.
In Q3, online sales in the segment were up 52.9% in constant
currency, driven by the continued expansion of click-and-collect
facilities and the FreshDirect acquisition. Excluding the
FreshDirect acquisition, U.S. online sales grew 26.2% in constant
currency, building on top of the significant 114.7% growth in the
same quarter last year.
Underlying operating margin in the U.S. was 4.8%, down 0.2
percentage points at constant exchange rates from the prior year
period, which had benefited from unusually low shrink levels and
favorable sales mix owing to a surge in demand related to COVID-19.
In Q3, U.S. IFRS-reported operating margin was 4.6%.
Europe highlights
European net sales grew 1.1% at constant exchange rates and 1.3%
at actual exchange rates. Europe's comparable sales excluding
gasoline declined by 0.2%. Despite lapping strong comparable sales
growth excluding gasoline in the year ago period of 7.5% and
contending with the reopening of societies across Europe,
comparable sales remained stable on the back of continued market
share gains. Albert Heijn was a particular standout in the quarter,
with market share results being driven by successful marketing
campaigns and sales uplifts provided by the brand’s store
remodeling activities. The European brands that produced good
comparable sales growth excluding gasoline in the quarter were led
by bol.com, and included our central and southern European
operations.
Q3 comparable sales in Europe were negatively impacted by
approximately 0.4 percentage points from flooding in Belgium, which
occurred early in the quarter. On a two-year comparable sales stack
basis for Q3 2021, growth was 7.3%, a deceleration compared to
growth of 12.3% in 2020, although the Q3 2021 two-year comparable
stack remains elevated relative to historic levels.
In Q3, net consumer online sales in the segment were up 20.1%,
following 48.6% growth in the same period last year.
Underlying operating margin in Europe was 4.3%, flat compared
with the prior year at constant exchange rates, as strong savings
programs offset inflationary pressures on costs. In Q3, Europe's
IFRS-reported operating margin was 4.1%.
Outlook
Our Q3 results provide management with the confidence to raise
the 2021 outlook for underlying operating margin, underlying EPS
growth and free cash flow.
As previously reported, COVID-19, and to a lesser extent, a
53-week calendar, significantly distorted Ahold Delhaize's 2020
financial results. Lapping these effects is impacting results in
2021, which returned to a 52-week calendar.
In 2021, the Group underlying operating margin outlook has been
raised to approximately 4.4%, versus approximately 4.3% previously,
reflecting the strong year-to-date margin performance. The outlook
continues to reflect the effects of over €750 million in cost
savings largely offsetting cost pressures related to COVID-19, and
the negative impact from increased online sales penetration.
The underlying EPS guidance has been raised and is now expected
to grow in the low- to mid-20s range relative to 2019, versus
high-teen growth previously. Management believes that framing 2021
underlying EPS guidance relative to 2019, which was prior to
COVID-19 and also on a 52-week calendar, provides a helpful context
for investors.
The 2021 free cash flow outlook has also been raised to
approximately €1.7 billion, compared to the previous outlook of
approximately €1.6 billion. This puts the Company on track to reach
€5.7 billion in cumulative free cash flow from 2019-2021 (averaging
€1.9 billion annually), which exceeds the Capital Markets Day 2018
target of €5.4 billion (averaging €1.8 billion annually). Capital
expenditure is expected to be around €2.2 billion, and reflects the
Company's higher investments in digital and omnichannel
capabilities and improvements related to recent M&A. In
addition, Ahold Delhaize remains committed to its dividend policy
and share buyback program in 2021, as previously stated. We expect
to grow the full-year 2021 dividend year-over-year.
|
Full-year outlook |
|
Underlying operating margin1 |
Underlying EPS |
Save for Our Customers |
|
Capital expenditures |
Free cash flow2 |
|
Dividend payout ratio3, 4 |
Share buyback4 |
Updated outlook |
2021 |
|
~ 4.4% |
Low- to mid-20s growth vs. 2019 |
> €750 million |
|
~ €2.2 billion |
~ €1.7 billion |
|
40-50% payout; YOY growth in
dividend per share |
€1 billion |
Previous outlook |
2021 |
|
~ 4.3% |
High-teen growth vs. 2019 |
> €750 million |
|
~ €2.2 billion |
~ €1.6 billion |
|
40-50% payout; YOY growth in dividend per share |
€1 billion |
- No significant impact to underlying operating margin from
returning to a 52-week calendar versus a 53-week calendar in 2020,
though the return to a 52-week calendar will negatively impact net
sales for the full year by 1.5-2.0%. Comparable sales growth will
be presented on a comparable 52-week basis.
- Excludes M&A.
- Calculated as a percentage of underlying income from continuing
operations.
- Management remains committed to the share buyback and dividend
program, but given the uncertainty caused by COVID-19, will
continue to monitor macroeconomic developments. The program is also
subject to changes in corporate activities, such as material
M&A activity.
- Ahold Delhaize Q3 2021 Interim report_2
- Ahold Delhaize Q3 2021 Press release_2
Koninklijke Ahold Delhai... (BIT:1AD)
Graphique Historique de l'Action
De Fév 2024 à Mar 2024
Koninklijke Ahold Delhai... (BIT:1AD)
Graphique Historique de l'Action
De Mar 2023 à Mar 2024