Belgian supermarket chain Delhaize has posted sales growth in all of its core territories in 2015, in what is likely to be the retailer's last set of results as an independent entity, before its forthcoming merger with Ahold.
Comparable store sales growth was +2.2% in the U.S., +0.9% in Belgium and +3.5% in Southeastern Europe, the retailer said.
In the US, Delhaize posted revenue growth of 15.6% at actual exchange rates (3.2% at identical exchange rates), while underlying operating profit stood at €872 million.
“Our full year results confirm our solid performance in 2015," said Delhaize chief executive Frans Muller.
"We have been able to stabilize or grow market share in all our markets while at the same time investing €774 million in order to differentiate our banners, improve our infrastructure and expand our network. We generated a solid level of free cash flow of €646 million excluding one-time elements, bringing our total free cash flow generation to €2.7 billion over the last four years.
“For 2016, our main focus is to complete the merger with Royal Ahold on schedule. We are confident on the prospects of the merger given the complementarity of our store networks, the opportunity to accelerate innovation for our customers and the €500 million run-rate synergy potential. The next step in the merger process will be the Extraordinary General Meetings of both companies scheduled on March 14.”
© 2016 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.
