Ahold Delhaize sales growth increased to 2.1%, with strong synergy delivery resulting in margin expansion
08 Novembre 2017 - 06:46AM
- Net sales increased by 7.4% to €15.1 billion (up 10.9% at
constant exchange rates)
- Net income increased by 54.0% to €362 million (up 59.5% at
constant exchange rates)
- Pro forma net sales decreased by 1.1% to €15.1 billion (up 2.1%
at constant exchange rates)
- Strong sales performance in the U.S., gaining market share
across our brands
- Online businesses growing total net consumer sales by more than
20%
- Pro forma underlying operating margin increased to 3.9%, up 40
basis points compared to Q3 2016
- Strong free cash flow of €426 million, up €340 million, with
guidance of €1.6 billion for FY 2017 reiterated
- Free cash flow for FY 2018 expected to increase, including
capital expenditure to step up to €1.9 billion
- New €2 billion share buy back program for 2018, following
completion of the €1 billion program in 2017
Zaandam, the Netherlands, November 8, 2017 - Ahold Delhaize, a
leader in supermarkets and eCommerce with market-leading local
brands in 11 countries, continued to show strong performance during
the third quarter of 2017 with increasing sales growth and improved
margins.
Dick Boer, CEO of Ahold Delhaize, said: "We reported a strong
financial performance again this quarter as margins increased
significantly, driven by synergies while savings from our "save for
our customers" programs are continuously being reinvested in the
business. We continue to successfully implement our Better Together
strategy and expect cumulative net synergies for the full year of
2017 to increase from €220 million to €250 million.
In the United States, inflation returned at low levels, and
sales performance further improved. We gained market share across
our brands in a competitive landscape with new entrants. Food Lion
continued to report strong volume growth, supported by the rollout
of its "Easy, Fresh & Affordable" strategy, whereas Stop &
Shop New England benefited from a strong summer holiday season.
In Europe, our Dutch business continued to show good momentum
with solid comparable sales growth and strong margins, driven by
synergies and other cost savings. Albert Heijn further improved the
quality of hundreds of own-brand products and was recognized for
having the most attractive promotions, providing great value for
customers. New products and services were introduced, such as a
subscription option at ah.nl for home delivery, offering free of
charge delivery at a fixed fee.
As part of our omni-channel strategy, we continue to enhance the
leading position of our online businesses both in the U.S. and
Europe, which in total grew more than 20% this quarter. We continue
to invest in online warehouse capacity and are on track to realize
almost €3 billion in online consumer sales this year and nearly €5
billion by 2020.
We are also investing to further improve our portfolios of
own-brand products, providing healthy and convenient choices for
customers and leveraging expertise from both sides of the Atlantic.
This includes combining our Ahold USA and Delhaize America natural
and organic own-brands with a total annual sales of $1 billion,
into our Nature's Promise brand that we will introduce across our
other businesses.
Moreover, we are building our digital capabilities and expertise
and continue to invest to offer customers a personalized
experience, both in our stores and online, using data analytics to
develop digital loyalty programs and unique offers and promotions,
benefiting from expertise and skills across our businesses. With
the introduction of "My Hannaford Rewards" program, all our U.S.
brands have now implemented a digital customer loyalty program.
We reiterate our guidance of €1.6 billion free cash flow for the
full year 2017. Looking forward to 2018, we will maintain our
balanced approach between managing our debt, funding growth and
returning excess liquidity to our shareholders. For 2018, we expect
free cash flow to increase and we anticipate capital expenditure to
step up to €1.9 billion, focused on improving our store network,
expanding our omni-channel offering and further developing our
digital capabilities. In addition, we announced today a new 12
month €2 billion share buy back program starting at the beginning
of 2018, reflecting confidence in our Better Together strategy.
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Attachments:
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