Ahold publishes First Quarter 2015 Results

Zaandam, the Netherlands - Ahold today published its summary report for the first quarter of 2015.

• Q1 sales of €11.3 billion, up 14.9% driven by currency (up 1.4% at constant exchange rates)
• Sales excluding gas up 3.1% at constant exchange rates
• Sales in the Netherlands up 5.7%, driven by successful promotions and improved product offering
• Underlying operating margin of 3.5%, reflects investments in growth and higher insurance charge
• Conversion of SPAR stores in the Czech Republic completed

CEO Dick Boer said: "We are encouraged by the positive momentum in our sales trend, with sales growth of 3.1% excluding gas and at constant exchange rates, despite the adverse timing of Easter. We have continued to respond to the changing needs of our customers, by making further price investments, increasing and improving our assortments, expanding our store network, introducing new formats and continuing to strengthen our leading online proposition.

"In the Netherlands, Albert Heijn delivered strong sales growth, supported by successful promotions, and continued to improve its product assortment to further differentiate its offering. Albert Heijn grew market share in the Netherlands and we made further progress expanding our network in Belgium with new store openings bringing the total to 30 stores. In the U.S., we saw further benefits from our improved customer proposition, which we have continued to roll out to more stores during the quarter, resulting in an increased volume market share. In the Czech Republic, we completed the process of rebranding the 49 SPAR stores.

"Our business performance remains on track to deliver in line with full year expectations. We continue to execute our Reshaping Retail strategy, offering quality and value to our customers."

Please follow this link to watch a video interview with Jeff Carr, Ahold CFO.

Full Q1 2015 Report and Q1 2015 Presentation attached as PDF to this message.