Big shop

20 February 2020 By Aimee Donnellan Follow @aimeedonnellan

Ahold Delhaize, the $28 bln owner of Stop & Shop supermarkets, churned out cash after another strong quarter. The success suggests it could hoover up smaller U.S. players. Several grocers might be an option, though Ahold might have to compromise on its preferences.

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Food retailer Ahold Delhaize met forecasts with a 3% rise in fourth-quarter core earnings on Feb. 12 helped by its Food Lion and Hannaford U.S. grocery chains and strong online sales.

Ahold, which generates two-thirds of its sales in the United States, forecast 2020 margins “broadly in line” with last year and mid-single-digit growth in underlying earnings per share.

Overall underlying operating income rose to 765 million euros ($834 million) for the three months to Dec. 31 from 743 million euros. Sales rose 5% to 17.4 billion euros, helped by a strong dollar.

In the Benelux countries, where Ahold operates the dominant Albert Heijn supermarket chain, comparable sales rose 4.3%. Ahold said it had won market share for the first time in several quarters, as online sales continued a strong upward trend.

By 0937 GMT on Feb. 19 shares in Ahold were up 5.7% at 23.83 euros since the grocer released its results on Feb. 12.

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