Ahold Delhaize Q4 Sales Edge Up
Citing increased price investments, new own-brand assortments and strong operational execution that created value for customers, Ahold Delhaize reported Q4 net sales of €23.3 billion (US $24.2 billion), up 0.6% at constant exchange rates and up 1.0% at actual exchange rates. Excluding the effects of the divestment of FreshDirect, the closure of Stop & Shop stores, and the end of tobacco sales in the Netherlands, net sales growth would have been 2.1 percentage points higher, according to the global retail conglomerate.
Ahold Delhaize’s Q4 comparable sales excluding gasoline grew by 1.4%, up 1.4% in the United States and 1.2% in Europe. Comps excluding gasoline were positively affected by 0.2 percentage points in the United States because of calendar shifts and weather, and adversely affected by 3.4 percentage points in Europe because of the cessation of calendar shifts and tobacco sales.
Online sales rose by 5.8% in Q4 at constant exchange rates and by 6.1% at actual exchange rates. This increase was attributable to double-digit growth in online grocery, excluding FreshDirect, whose divestment had a negative impact of 5.1 percentage points.
Ahold Delhaize also reported 2024 full-year net sales of €89.4 billion (US $92.7 billion), underlying operating margin of 4.0% and diluted underlying EPS of €2.54 (US $2.63), in line with initial expectations for the year. The company proposed a cash dividend of €1.17 (US $1.21) for the full year 2024, a 6.4% increase from 2023 and in line with its dividend payout policy.
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“The strength of our value creation model is highlighted by the solid and consistent financial performance we delivered in 2024,” noted Ahold Delhaize President and CEO Frans Muller. “For the full year, net sales increased by 0.9% at constant rates, while comparable sales excluding gas increased by 1.2%. … Our Save for Our Customers program once again served as the fuel to drive this success, with savings of over €1.35 billion (US $1.40 billion). Our deep expertise and understanding of local markets, paired with the scale and best practices we share across the Ahold Delhaize family, enables us to create and use these savings annually to reinvest in our customer value proposition.”
Added Muller: “From an operations perspective, our Q4 performance is equally promising, and provides a good indicator of where we are heading in 2025.”
The company’s Q4 U.S. net sales were €13.9 billion (US $14.4 billion), a decline of 0.6% at constant exchange rates and up 0.2% at actual exchange rates. U.S. comps excluding gasoline increased by 1.4%, driven by continued growth in pharmacy sales and benefiting from a net positive impact of about 0.2 percentage points because of calendar shifts and weather. Net sales were negatively affected by the closure of Stop & Shop stores, the divestment of FreshDirect and lower gasoline sales. Food Lion and Hannaford continued to lead the U.S. brands’ performance, delivering 49 and 14 consecutive quarters of positive sales growth, respectively.
In Q4, U.S. online sales dipped 0.9% in constant currency, adversely affected by 11.8 percentage points due to the divestment of FreshDirect. This was partly offset by double-digit online growth at Food Lion.
“In the U.S., we saw volumes return to positive territory, capped off by strong holiday sales,” noted Muller. “Including price investments, the U.S. segment delivered an underlying operating margin in line with the third quarter. … Online sales growth was a key highlight for the quarter; it reached double-digit levels for the third quarter in a row, excluding the impact of FreshDirect. Customers are responding positively to our partnership with DoorDash, with orders accelerating a further 20% compared to Q3. … The Giant Co. opened a new store in Philadelphia, with two more in the works for 2025, as part of the plans to accelerate new store openings in the coming year.”
For 2025, guided by its Growing Together strategy and its growth model, Ahold Delhaize plans to invest at a steady pace to boost its omnichannel capabilities, increase customer loyalty and expand its reach. To that end, the company said it would prioritize price investments, new store openings and remodels, and the widescale adoption of proven technologies.
For its 2025 outlook, Ahold Delhaize expects underlying operating margin of around 4%, mid- to high single-digit underlying EPS growth, free cash flow of at least €2.2 billion, and gross capital expenditures of around €2.7 billion.
Muller also affirmed the company’s commitment to health and sustainability.
“While the environment we operate in continues to evolve, our commitment to healthy communities and planet remains unchanged,” he observed. “These topics are key for long-term business resilience and competitive advantage and align very closely with our values. In 2024, we reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in our own operations by 36% compared to our 2018 baseline. Our total tons of food waste per food sales was 35% lower than our 2016 baseline, and we are reporting a 10% reduction in virgin own-brand primary plastic packaging compared to 2021. Our brands increased the percentage of own-brand healthy food sales, which reached 52.4% in 2024. In 2025, we will begin the work to refresh our approach for healthy food sales and plastic product packaging, which are key agenda points in our Growing Together time period.”
Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize is one of the world’s largest food retail groups. The company’s family of local brands serves 63 million customers each week, both in stores and online, in the United States, Europe, and Indonesia. Together, these brands employ more than 402,000 associates in 7,716 grocery and specialty stores. The Ahold Delhaize USA division is No. 11 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named the company one of its Retailers of the Century.
