Despite Dodgy Economy, Ahold's Q3 Sales Rise

Ahold Friday late last week posted consolidated net sales of 5.8 billion euros for its third quarter ending Oct. 5, 2008, a gain of 3.9 percent (7.6 percent at constant exchange rates) against performance in the year-ago period.

“In the turbulent economic environment, our continued focus on bringing value to our customers led to a solid performance,” said the multichain grocer. “We remain vigilant and will respond to any changes in consumer and competitor behavior.”

The solid performance the Amsterdam-based company extended to its U.S. banners, which have in the past have struggled in their highly competitive retail landscapes.

In the Stop & Shop/Giant-Landover arena, sales grew 4.4 percent to $3.9 billion, including $14 million of sales attributed to Tops. Before Tops' sale to Morgan Stanley Private Equity last year, such transactions were recorded as inter-company sales.

Identical sales rose 4.6 percent at Stop & Shop (3.8 percent excluding gasoline net sales); and went up 0.7 percent at Giant-Landover (0.6 percent excluding gasoline net sales), affected by lower pharmacy sales. Comparable sales increased 4.8 percent at Stop & Shop and 1.0 percent at Giant-Landover.

At Giant-Carlisle, the financial picture was even more impressive: Net sales rose 11.8 percent to $1.1 billion, identical sales increased 8.0 percent (5.4 percent excluding gasoline net sales), and comps sales went up 8.7 percent.
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