A first quarter period marred by declining exchange rates and exceptional charges relating to US store closures has taken its toll on Belgian retail group Delhaize. But the company said it remained pleased with its underlying performance.
Sales for the three month period were down 13.9 per cent to €4.7 billion and were impacted by the late Easter holiday period, the closing of 41 Food Lion stores and one Kash n' Karry store in the US and continued soft sales at the remaining Food Lion and Kash n' Karry. Elsewhere, the company reported strong sales, with high comparable store sales growth in Belgium (+6.5 per cent), Greece and at Hannaford in the US.
"We are pleased with our first quarter results and our €0.50 net earnings per share is nearly in line with last year despite a huge negative movement in the US dollar and an exceptional charge for store closings," said Pierre-Olivier Beckers, president and chief executive officer of Delhaize Group.
"The significant cost savings programme at Food Lion and continued commercial successes at Hannaford, Delhaize Belgium and in Greece, offset the negative impact of the dollar weakening and the continued weak sales at Food Lion and Kash n' Karry."
US sales in the first quarter were down 1.4 per cent to $3.7 billion (€3.4bn), due to the closure of a number of outlets during the period, no new store openings and a 2.2 per cent drop in like-for-like store sales.
Delhaize's Belgium sales grew by 8.1 per cent to €869.2 million thanks to the expansion of the company's sales network and comparable store sales growth of 6.5 per cent. Sales at the Southern and Central European operations (Greece, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania) grew by 4.9 per cent to €290.2 million, while Asian sales reached €52.9 million, up by €0.2 million, impacted by the depreciation of various Asian currencies.