By Maarten van Tartwijk 

AMSTERDAM-- Royal Ahold NV on Thursday said its second-quarter net profit rose 33% from a year earlier, as the Dutch supermarket operator reaped the benefits of a strong performance in both the U.S. and the Netherlands.

Net profit rose to EUR195 million ($216 million) from EUR147 million a year earlier, while sales rose 17% to EUR8.7 billion. Underlying operating profit, which excludes the divestments and restructuring charges, rose 15% to EUR331 million.

Sales were boosted by the weakening of the euro against the U.S. dollar, but also by improving underlying trends in both the U.S. and the Netherlands, Ahold's most important markets. Excluding the impact of currency developments, sales rose 3%.

Shares in Ahold rose nearly 3% in early trading in Amsterdam.

The results came as Ahold is preparing to merge with Belgium's Delhaize Group in a $29 billion tie-up that could create one of the largest supermarket operators in the U.S. and give the grocers greater buying clout as they grapple with slow growth and intensifying competition.

KBC Securities, a Brussels-based brokerage, said Ahold's results provide some comfort ahead of the merger. "Ahold's strategic actions are progressively bearing fruit which bodes well for the future," the brokerage said. With both Delhaize and Ahold enjoying improving sales trends in the U.S., "the combined group will have a solid position in the region," it said.

In the U.S., where Ahold owns the Stop & Shop and Giant chains, identical sales excluding gasoline rose 1.8%, compared with a 1.8% decline a year earlier and flat growth in the first quarter. Ahold said it increased its U.S. market share for the fourth consecutive quarter in part due to a recent turnaround of its stores.

Delhaize last month said it recorded a 2.5% same-store sales growth in the U.S., where it operates the Food Lion and Hannaford chains.

In the Netherlands, Ahold saw identical sales grow by 3.4%, compared with a 1.7% decline a year earlier. The retailer attributed the increase to a strong performance of its flagship Albert Heijn chain, as well as robust online sales.

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

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 20, 2015 05:32 ET (09:32 GMT)