Ahold Delhaize announce separate Q2 results | Progresiv
Ahead of its first set of results as a combined company, which will come in the third quarter, Netherlands-based Ahold and Belgium-based Delhaize have announced separate second quarter results that underline how both companies went in to the merger in a very strong position. 
Ahold saw strength across all its operations, maintaining the positive performance it saw in Q1, with net sales rising by 3.6% at constant exchange in both Q1 and the half year. Net sales reached 8.95 billion euros in Q2 and 20.7 billion in H1.
In the Netherlands net sales rose 4.6% in the second quarter, to 3.0 billion, aided by identical sales growth of 3.2%, which was boosted by the performance of both its store-based and online operations. The retailer pointed to the increasing number of personalised promotions it was able to offer and shoppers’ positive reception to its ‘expanded… range of healthy convenience products in the produce department.’
Pointing to one potential quick win for the combined company, Ahold said that its online businesses continued to perform strongly, with net consumer sales rising by more than 30% at bol.com, at both its own and marketplace stores, and ah.nl, where it saw an increase in transactions. Ahold said that sales into Belgium through bol.com jumped, with consumer sales rising 59% and marketplace sales up by 83%.
Delhaize had previously announced its second quarter results, with total revenues rising by 2.8% to 6.29 billion euros and by 4.3% at identical exchange rates.
Looking to the future, Dick Boer, the chief executive of Ahold Delhaize, pointed that the company remains confident of hitting its synergy target of 500 million euros by mid-2019, with the smooth transition to a one company structure supporting this belief. Boer said that there had been a successful integration of the two head offices and that the process of discussing terms with suppliers had begun in Belgium and the Netherlands and would start in the US in September. (www.igd.com)
