• With ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, the Ahold Delhaize brands remain firmly focused on serving customers and strengthening local customer value propositions. Drawing on decades of operational resilience, our brands are agile and adapt to changing market conditions. In the past quarter, they made targeted investments in competitive pricing and expanded own-brand assortments. This is part of our Growing Together strategy, leveraging brand strength to outpace industry growth.
• Q1 net sales were €23.3 billion, up 5.0% at constant exchange rates and up 7.1% at actual exchange rates. Net sales were positively impacted by 2.9 percentage points at constant exchange rates from the acquisition of Profi and negatively impacted by 1.0 percentage points from the closure of Stop & Shop stores and the cessation of tobacco sales in the Netherlands and Belgium.
• Q1 comparable sales excluding gasoline increased by 3.3% for Ahold Delhaize, up 3.1% in the U.S. and 3.7% in Europe. Comparable sales excluding gasoline were net positively impacted by 0.5 percentage points in the U.S. due to weather and calendar shifts, and net negatively impacted by 1.1 percentage points in Europe due to tobacco and calendar shifts.
• Our investments in expanding our omnichannel infrastructure and enhancing our digital loyalty programs are yielding strong results. Ahold Delhaize online sales increased by 13.7% in Q1 at constant exchange rates and by 15.4% at actual exchange rates. This was driven by double-digit growth in online grocery in both regions and accelerating sales at bol.
• Q1 underlying operating margin was 3.8%, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points at constant exchange rates. Strong performance in Europe was offset by strategic U.S. price investments to accelerate growth.
• Q1 IFRS operating income was €880 million and IFRS-diluted earnings per share (EPS) was €0.60. IFRS results were €10 million lower than underlying results.
• Q1 diluted underlying EPS was €0.62, an increase of 4.6% compared to the prior year at actual rates.
• The Company reiterates its 2025 full-year outlook, including underlying operating margin of around 4%; mid- to high-single-digit underlying EPS growth based on an average U.S. dollar/euro exchange rate for 2025 of 1.10; free cash flow of at least €2.2 billion; and gross capital expenditures of around €2.7 billion.
Comments from Frans Muller, President and CEO of Ahold Delhaize
"I am pleased to report strong first quarter sales growth, placing us well on track to reach our goals and strategic ambitions for 2025. It has been a dynamic start to the year for customers in both regions, with increasing macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility. In the U.S., there have been spikes in the price of eggs and evolving conditions around tariffs. In Europe, we have experienced ongoing conflict and tension in Ukraine and large-scale anti-corruption protests in Central and Southeastern Europe (CSE).
"With consumer sentiment declining, our brands have an important role to play. By consistently delivering compelling customer value propositions, they build customers' confidence and trust. Our brands are working hard to ensure that every time customers shop, online or in store, they find the best value at competitive pricing to fit their budgets and their convenience needs. Our Growing Together strategy, our scale and our experience in dealing with different economic cycles prepares us well to keep investing in our winning propositions, supporting our ambitions to increase brand strength and drive market share gains.
"To this end, we continued with our planned price investments in the U.S. throughout Q1. Giant Food expanded its 'Fresh Low Prices' initiative, lowering prices on hundreds of products across its own-brand range. Stop & Shop maintained a steady cadence, rolling out value-enhancing campaigns and lowering prices at more than 40% of its stores. Albert Heijn further expanded its AH Terra own-brand range to 350 products. Over 20% of the range is part of the brand's 'Price Favorites' everyday low-price product offering and all items qualify for an additional 10% discount as part of the AH Premium subscription loyalty program. Despite minimum turnover tax (IMCA) regulations in Romania, Mega Image introduced a new personalized offer that gave customers a 35% discount on the products most relevant to them.
"Through our steady and growing market shares, and as reflected in our Q1 sales growth, we can see we are clearly doing the right things and customers are responding positively. Net group sales grew 5.0% at constant rates, as comparable sales excluding gasoline accelerated to 3.3%. This was supported by positive volumes in both regions. Net group sales were positively impacted by 2.9 percentage points from the Profi acquisition and negatively impacted by 1.0 percentage points from the closure of Stop & Shop stores and the cessation of tobacco sales in the Netherlands and Belgium. U.S. net sales grew by 1.8% at constant rates, while comparable sales growth excluding gasoline increased by 3.1%, net positively impacted by 0.5 percentage points from winter storms and calendar shifts. Including Profi, net sales in Europe grew by 10.1% at constant rates, while comparable sales growth excluding gasoline was 3.7%, despite the net negative impact from tobacco and calendar shifts of 1.1 percentage points.
"Our investments in expanding our omnichannel infrastructure and enhancing our digital loyalty programs are yielding strong results in both regions, leading to a fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth in online grocery. To accommodate how U.S. customers want to shop, our U.S. brands have expanded the accessibility of their same-day delivery options with additional click-and-collect locations, more time slots, and a partnership with DoorDash. This was a major competitive advantage during the winter storms in early 2025, when our U.S. brands were well positioned to facilitate the rise in customer demand, contributing to record penetration levels. In Europe, we also continue to focus on driving higher efficiency and profitability from our online asset base. Albert Heijn extended their use of smart algorithms to offer a new delivery bundle that enables more efficient delivery routes and the ability to better respond to increased demand. In addition, bol continues to build sales momentum, capturing new opportunities with social commerce and with increased offerings in categories like home living and appliances.
"Despite the price investments in the U.S. and the first-time consolidation of Profi, we delivered a stable underlying operating margin of 3.8% and diluted underlying EPS growth of 4.6%. The strong performance in the Benelux is an encouraging sign that our European business remains on the path to restoring margins to its historical profile. On an IFRS basis, we delivered operating income of €880 million and diluted EPS of €0.60. Free cash flow at €199 million was also consistent with our expectations for the full year. The decrease of €178 million over the prior year largely relates to lower divestments from the sale of two U.S. meat facilities in 2024.
"As a company, we are committed to driving the transition to a healthier and more sustainable food system. Every small change we implement makes a difference on a larger scale. I am proud that we achieved several important milestones already this year. We successfully priced our third Sustainability-Linked Bond and published our second Green Bond impact report. CDP recognized Ahold Delhaize's progress in climate by upgrading our climate rating to A- and we received validation of our scope 3 targets in line with a 1.5- degree scenario from the Science Based Targets initiative. Finally, our brands continued to inspire and enable customers to make healthier and more sustainable choices. As part of these efforts, our European brands have set a consolidated target, aiming for 50% plant-based food sales by 2030.
"Although there is a lot of volatility in the macro environment, with tariffs and fluctuations in exchange rates, we maintain our guidance for the year, albeit with a potential impact on EPS results due to the impact of currency translation. With our strong market positions, our financial strength and the great foundational work we have carried out over the last few years, I am confident that we are well positioned to execute on our Growing Together plans, supporting our customers and using our scale to drive competitive advantage along the way."
Read full press release:
https://newsroom.aholddelhaize.com/ahold-delhaize-reports-strong-first-quarter-sales-growth-and-reiterates-2025-outlook/
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