Ahold Delhaize points to growth in U.S. in Q3 - FreshFruitPortal.com

Ahold Delhaize: U.S. sales, e-commerce drive strong Q3

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Ahold Delhaize: U.S. sales, e-commerce drive strong Q3

Netherlands-based food retailer Ahold Delhaize saw strong third-quarter results, citing sales in the U.S. and e-commerce as driving forces.

The company emphasized success in the U.S. as a central factor in its overall positive performance.

Gains in e-commerce also boosted the quarter, which ended on Sept. 29.

It reported a 2.9% year-on-year increase in net sales totaling €16.7bn (US$18.5bn).

Ahold Delhaize highlights the U.S.

"We saw strong overall performance at our U.S. brands, particularly at Food Lion and Hannaford," said president and CEO Frans Muller.

Specifically, Ahold US reported US$11.4bn in net sales.

While the company said that its "Stop & Shop" design at some stores has proved difficult within a "challenging sales environment", performance is in line with expectations.

A notable impact was made by Hurricane Dorian on the East Coast of the U.S. as it gave a 0.3% benefit. Excluding this, total sales were up 2% this quarter.

Muller also drew attention to "sales uplifts" in the 21 remodeled stores in Long Island and Connecticut.

Comparable sales growth excluding gasoline was 1.8%.

For Food Lion, this marks the 28th consecutive quarter of positive growth.

Online sales in the U.S. also saw a jump of 26.3%. Overall, online sales were up 29.5% at constant exchange rates.

European market and other news

Apart from the success in the U.S., the company saw a 4.5% increase in comparable sales in Southeast Europe.

It also added 14 new stores in Romania, Greece and Serbia.

In the Netherlands, it reported a 3% rise in sales year-on-year.

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