Zaandam, the Netherlands - Ahold today published its summary report for the second quarter and first half of 2015. Highlights of the second quarter are:

• Sales of €8.7 billion, up 17.1% (up 3.1% at constant exchange rates)

• Sales excluding gas up 4.8% at constant exchange rates

• Underlying operating margin of 3.8%, down 0.1 percentage points

• Strong free cash flow of €367 million, up €297 million

• Sales in the Netherlands up 6.8%, due to a strong performance by Albert Heijn and the impact of growth initiatives, resulting in increased transactions and higher volumes

• Sales in the United States excluding gas up 2.1%, reflecting an improved customer proposition

• Consumer online sales up 22.8% (at constant exchange rates), driven by ongoing investments

• Ahold and Delhaize announced their intention to merge on June 24, 2015, combining two highly complementary businesses

CEO Dick Boer said: "We had a strong quarter and are pleased with the financial performance across our business. We grew sales, operating income and net income and delivered strong free cash flow.

"In the Netherlands, Albert Heijn continued its strong sales momentum with more transactions and higher volumes, increasing its market share this quarter versus one year ago. Our market-leading Dutch online businesses Albert Heijn Online and bol.com achieved combined consumer sales growth of more than 30% and we continue to invest in future growth. In the United States, we continue to focus on improving our customer proposition and remain on track with the implementation of our program to provide better quality and value to our customers. For the fourth consecutive quarter, we grew volume market share in the United States and our margins were resilient, as a result of ongoing cost control. In the Czech Republic, we saw improved sales, primarily driven by our Albert supermarkets, with profitability temporarily affected by the SPAR acquisition, as per our previous guidance.

"Looking ahead, we remain confident in our outlook for the business and are on track to deliver a full-year performance in line with expectations. We are excited about the agreement with Delhaize, which brings together two highly complementary businesses to create a stronger, international food retailer for the benefit of our customers, associates and shareholders."

Please follow this link to watch a video interview with Dick Boer, Ahold CEO.

Full Q2 2015 Report and Q2 2015 Presentation attached as PDF to this message.

Ahold Q2 2015 Presentation
Ahold Q2 2015 Results (report)

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Source: Ahold via GlobeNewswire
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