CHICAGO, IL - With ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, the Ahold Delhaize brands remain firmly focused on serving customers and strengthening local customer value propositions. Drawing on decades of operational resilience, our brands are agile and adapt to changing market conditions. In the past quarter, they made targeted investments in competitive pricing and expanded their own-brand assortments. This is part of our Growing Together strategy, leveraging brand strength to outpace industry growth.

Q1 net sales were €23.3 billion, up 5.0% at constant exchange rates and up 7.1% at actual exchange rates. Net sales were positively impacted by 2.9 percentage points at constant exchange rates from the acquisition of Profi and negatively impacted by 1.0 percentage points from the closure of Stop & Shop stores and the cessation of tobacco sales in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Q1 comparable sales excluding gasoline increased by 3.3% for Ahold Delhaize, up 3.1% in the U.S. and 3.7% in Europe. Comparable sales excluding gasoline were net positively impacted by 0.5 percentage points in the U.S. due to weather and calendar shifts, and net negatively impacted by 1.1 percentage points in Europe due to tobacco and calendar shifts.

Our investments in expanding our omnichannel infrastructure and enhancing our digital loyalty programs are yielding strong results. Ahold Delhaize online sales increased by 13.7% in Q1 at constant exchange rates and by 15.4% at actual exchange rates. This was driven by double-digit growth in online grocery in both regions and accelerating sales at bol.

Q1 underlying operating margin was 3.8%, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points at constant exchange rates. Strong performance in Europe was offset by strategic U.S. price investments to accelerate growth.

Q1 IFRS operating income was €880 million, and IFRS-diluted earnings per share (EPS) was €0.60. IFRS results were €10 million lower than underlying results.

Q1 diluted underlying EPS was €0.62, an increase of 4.6% compared to the prior year at actual rates.

The Company reiterates its 2025 full-year outlook, including underlying operating margin of around 4%; mid- to high-single-digit underlying EPS growth based on an average U.S. dollar/euro exchange rate for 2025 of 1.10; free cash flow of at least €2.2 billion; and gross capital expenditures of around €2.7 billion.

Comments from Frans Muller, President and CEO of Ahold Delhaize

"I am pleased to report strong first-quarter sales growth, placing us well on track to reach our goals and strategic ambitions for 2025. It has been a dynamic start to the year for customers in both regions, with increasing macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility. In the U.S., there have been spikes in the price of eggs and evolving conditions around tariffs. In Europe, we have experienced ongoing conflict and tension in Ukraine and large-scale anti-corruption protests in Central and Southeastern Europe (CSE).

"With consumer sentiment declining, our brands have an important role to play. By consistently delivering compelling customer value propositions, they build customers' confidence and trust. Our brands are working hard to ensure that every time customers shop, online or in store, they find the best value at competitive pricing to fit their budgets and their convenience needs. Our Growing Together strategy, our scale and our experience in dealing with different economic cycles prepare us well to keep investing in our winning propositions, supporting our ambitions to increase brand strength and drive market share gains."

Read the full report here.