By Maarten van Tartwijk 
 

AMSTERDAM--Dutch food retailer Ahold NV (AH.AE) Thursday posted a small rise in fourth-quarter net profit and promised to return more cash to shareholders.

Net profit for the final three months of 2014 was 219 million euros ($248.6 million), compared with EUR215 million a year earlier. Sales rose 8% to EUR8.1 billion.

Ahold said its margins were pressured by promotional activities in the U.S. and the Netherlands, which led to an underlying profit margin of 3.7% in the fourth quarter, down from 4.3% a year earlier.

Ahold has been struggling with intensifying competition in the U.S., where it makes around 60% of its sales through its Stop & Shop and Giant supermarket chains. It also faces problems in the Netherlands, where it last month replaced the chief executive of its flagship Albert Heijn chain following a lackluster performance.

Ahold proposed to pay a dividend of EUR0.48 a share for 2014, up from EUR0.47 in the prior year, and announced a new share buyback program of EUR500 million for the next year. It also said it will slash costs by another EUR350 million in 2015.

Write to Maarten van Tartwijk at maarten.vantartwijk@dowjones.com

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