Ahold Delhaize Backs Guidance

By Nina Kienle

Royal Ahold Delhaize NV on Wednesday backed its full-year outlook, as first-quarter sales rose slightly but its operating income dropped.

The Dutch grocer said its group operating income for the quarter fell 2.3% to 803 million euros ($863.7 million).

Net sales rose 0.4% to EUR21.73 billion from the same period of the prior year and compared with a consensus estimate of EUR21.53 billion provided by the company.

Group net sales were driven by comparable sales growth excluding gasoline of 1.6% and the net opening of new stores, the company said.

U.S. net sales fell 0.6% to EUR13.25 billion, while European sales climbed 4.6% to EUR8.48 billion, the company said.

The company reiterated its 2024 outlook and continues to expect an underlying operating margin of 4% or higher, as well as underlying earnings per share at around 2023 levels.

The acquisition of Profi is expected to close in the second half of 2024, doubling the size of operations in Romania, but as the timing of the closing is uncertain, the outlook excludes any impact from transactions, it said.

Write to Nina Kienle at nina.kienle@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 08, 2024 02:39 ET (06:39 GMT)

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