ADRNY Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize NV (QX)

By Ian Walker

Royal Ahold Delhaize NV on Wednesday reported a swing to net profit for the fourth-quarter of 2021, beating market forecasts, though it said that it expects adjusted earnings per share to fall this year as margins return to historical levels.

The Dutch grocer made a net profit for the quarter of 634 million euros ($720.2 million), compared with a net loss of EUR9 million for the year-earlier period and a consensus profit of EUR535 million taken from the company's website and based on 12 analysts' forecasts.

Net sales rose to EUR20.15 billion from EUR19.60 billion the prior year, a rise of 0.1% on a constant-exchange basis. This compares with a consensus of EUR19.83 billion, according to a company-compiled consensus of 18 analysts' estimates.

Like-for-like U.S. net sales excluding gas rose 16%, while European sales climbed 12%, the company said.

Quarterly underlying earnings per share--which strips out exceptional and other one-off items--rose to 59 European cents from 53 cents, up 7.6% on a constant-exchange basis, it said.

For the year ahead, the company said it expects underlying EPS to fall by low- to mid-single digits compared with 2021. For 2021 as a whole, underlying EPS fell 0.5% at constant exchange rates.

The board has declared a final dividend of 52 cents a share, up from 40 cents a year earlier, taking the total payout for the year to 95 cents, compared with 90 cents.

Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 16, 2022 02:26 ET (07:26 GMT)

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