Zaandam, the
Netherlands, March 1, 2017 - Ahold Delhaize, a leader in
supermarkets and eCommerce with market-leading local brands in 11
countries, reported a strong fourth quarter and full year
performance with solid sales growth and margins in the year of its
landmark merger.
Dick Boer, CEO of Ahold Delhaize, said:
"2016 was not only a year where we brought together two strong food
retailers. It was also a year in which our great local brands drove
solid performance, serving our customers both in stores and
online.
"I am very pleased with the financial
results in the fourth quarter with volume growth and strong
margins, while making good progress implementing our Better
Together strategy which we announced in December. Our teams are
working hard on the integration, leveraging best practices and
realizing synergy targets.
"Pro forma sales grew by 2.8% in the
fourth quarter at constant exchange rates and adjusted for the 53rd
week in 2015, driving volumes while operating in a deflationary
environment in the U.S.
"Ahold USA continued to focus on its
"Heading Northeast" strategy by offering better value, better
quality and improved service to its customers, resulting in
resilient volume trends. Underlying operating margin performance
was slightly better than last year, adjusted for week 53 last year,
supported by ongoing cost initiatives and synergies.
"Delhaize America showed continued good
performance at both Food Lion and Hannaford with strong volume
growth, more than offsetting the impact of deflation on sales.
Underlying operating margins improved, driven by the "Easy, Fresh
& Affordable" strategic initiative and synergies.
"In The Netherlands performance was
outstanding, driven by both supermarkets and our online businesses
ah.nl and bol.com. Underlying operating margin exceeded last year's
margin, reflecting operational efficiency and synergies.
"In Belgium, sales performance
reflected a softer holiday season compared to 2015. However,
underlying operating margins slightly improved due to capturing
synergies.
"In Central and Southeastern Europe
sales growth was mainly driven by Romania. Underlying operating
margins decreased mainly due to our Serbian and our Czech
business.
"Our strong free cash flow of €1.4
billion for the full year allows us to continue to fund growth in
key channels, as well as to return excess liquidity to our
shareholders. In January, we started a €1 billion share buyback to
be carried out throughout 2017.
"Finally, we are pleased to propose a
dividend of €0.57 to our shareholders, an increase of 9.6% compared
to Ahold last year, representing a payout ratio of 48% of pro forma
underlying income from continuing operations."