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Modest sales growth in first quarter partly impacted by timing of Easter
 · Sales €9.7 billion (up 1.9 percent at constant exchange rates)
 · Operating income €416 million (down 6.3 percent)
 · Net income €282 million (down 3.1 percent)
 · Underlying operating margin 4.3 percent (underlying retail operating
margin
4.6 percent)
 · Acquisitions announced of 16 Genuardi's stores on January 5 and
82 C1000/Jumbo stores on April 26
 · bol.com acquisition completed May 9
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Amsterdam, the Netherlands, June 6 2012 - Ahold today published its interim
report for the first quarter of 2012.
CEO Dick Boer said: Â "Sales growth in the first quarter was modest at 1.9
percent at constant exchange rates, reflecting the timing of Easter and
challenging market conditions. However, we saw underlying trends improving
slightly as the quarter developed and are encouraged by the sales trend in the
second quarter, albeit against a background of weak market conditions.
"We continued to invest in competitiveness both in the United States and in
Europe with higher levels of promotional activity, resulting in market share
gains in the United States and maintaining our market share in the Netherlands.
"As we said before, we expect 2012 to be another challenging year for the food
retail industry, with intense competitive activity and consumer spending under
pressure due to economic uncertainty, particularly in Europe. We remain
confident that our strong brands are well positioned and are well on track to
deliver on our strategy.
"We will continue to invest in growth and are very pleased to have completed the
acquisition of bol.com, whose capabilities will accelerate Ahold's online
growth, and look forward to completing our announced acquisitions of the
Genuardi's and C1000/Jumbo stores, which will extend our network in our two key
markets."
Ahold Press Office: +31 88 659 5343
Ahold Investor Relations: +31 88 659 5213
Follow us on Twitter: @AholdNews
Click here to go to ahold.com for all links related to the Q1 2012 results.
Ahold Q1 2012 results press release:
http://hugin.info/130711/R/1617527/516177.pdf
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Source: Ahold via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1617527]
