Ahold, Delhaize Post Earnings Rise in 4th Quarter, Raise Dividends
March 03 2016 - 2:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Maarten van Tartwijk
AMSTERDAM--European supermarket operators Royal Ahold NV (AH.AE)
and Delhaize Group (DEG) on Thursday reported a rise in
fourth-quarter earnings and raised their dividends as they work to
close their merger.
Netherlands-based Ahold reported net profit of 254 million euros
($276 million) in the last three months of 2015, a 16% rise
compared with a year earlier, driven by a 21% rise in revenue to
EUR9.8 billion. The company proposed to increase its full-year
dividend by 8% to EUR0.52 a share.
Delhaize, meanwhile, said it returned to a net profit of EUR114
million in the fourth quarter, up from a net loss of EUR55 million
in the same period a year earlier, while revenue rose 9% to EUR6.3
billion. It declared a dividend of EUR1.80 a share, a 13% rise from
2014.
The companies last year unveiled their planned merger in an
all-share deal that would create one of the largest supermarket
operators in the U.S. The deal comes as the grocers are seeking to
increase scale as they grapple with slow growth and fierce
competition from discounters.
The combined company will make around two-thirds of its sales on
the U.S. East Coast, where Ahold operates the Giant and Stop &
Shop chains and Delhaize owns Food Lion and Hannaford. The merger
deal remains on track to be closed by this summer, the companies
said, and shareholders are scheduled to vote on the tie-up on March
14.
The new company will be named Ahold Delhaize and be based in the
Netherlands.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 03, 2016 02:14 ET (07:14 GMT)
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