Delhaize Group has posted revenue growth of 2.3% (at identical exchange rates) and comparable store sales growth of 1.7% in its core US and Belgium markets for the third quarter of the year.
According to results posted this morning (29 October), Delhaize posted group underlying operating profit of €218 million, with an underlying operating margin of 3.5% for the period.
Frans Muller, President and Chief Executive Officer of Delhaize Group, commented, “We continue to report robust sales in this third quarter.
“Our return to positive comparable store sales growth in Belgium is just a first step, as we are putting our operations back onto a path of sustainable growth. During the third quarter, our stores were impacted by significant changes as a result of the agreed departure of many employees.”
In the US, Delhaize recently relaunched 162 Food Lion stores relaunched under the “Easy, Fresh & Affordable” strategy, with which the group has made “significant progress”, Muller noted.
Barclays European Food Retail Equity Research commented that Delhaize’s US figures show “a very good performance given the slightly negative food inflation (-0.4%) and particularly demanding comps, while the division invested in prices and encountered remodelling costs at Food Lion.”
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
