Ahold net earnings 1st quarter 1997 increase 69.4% to NLG 234.4 million.ZAANDAM, The Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 12, 1997--Royal Ahold (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : AHO), a leading international food retailer, today announced results for the 16 weeks ending April 20, 1997. Highlights: -- Net earnings 1st quarter rise 69.4% to NLG NLG The ISO 4217 currency code for the Dutch Guilder. 234.4 million -- Operating results climb 74.1% to NLG 476.9 million -- Sales rise 48% to NLG 14.0 billion -- Earnings per share up 23.4% to NLG 1.36 -- Confirmation of full year 1997 expectation: Considerably higher net earnings and significant growth of earnings per share Royal Ahold achieved net earnings of NLG 234.4 million for the first quarter of 1997 (16 weeks ending April 20), an increase of 69.4% (1996: NLG 138.4 million). Net earnings after deduction of the preferred dividend preferred dividend n. a payment of a corporation's profits to holders of preferred shares of stock. (See: preferred stock) , amounted to NLG 228.8 million. Earnings per common share amounted to NLG 1.36, up 23.4% from NLG 1.10 in 1996. The average number of common shares outstanding was 168,704,000 (1996: 125,960,000). The considerable increase of net earnings is mainly attributable to Ahold's acquisition of the Stop & Shop supermarket chain, in July 1996. The result in guilders was positively influenced by the higher exchange rate of the dollar (NLG 1.87 vs. 1.65). Growth of operating results was achieved in the various regions. Financial expense increased, mainly caused by the consolidation of the interest charges of Stop & Shop. The tax rate increased slightly over the same period last year. The impact of exchange rate differences, specifically the dollar, totaled NLG 930.8 million for sales and NLG 15.2 million for net earnings, and added NLG 0.09 to earnings per share. First-quarter sales increase 48.0% to NLG 14.0 billion Consolidated sales in guilders amounted to NLG 14.0 billion (1996: NLG 9.5 billion), a 48.0% rise. If Stop & Shop had also been included in consolidated sales for the first quarter of 1996, the sales increase would have been 17.1%. In the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. sales increased by 53.9% to US$ 4.2 billion. This rise was primarily due to Ahold's acquisition of the supermarket chain Stop & Shop last year. If Stop & Shop had also been included in the consolidated sales for the first quarter of 1996, the increase would have been 7.1%. All chains achieved higher sales than in the same period last year. In The Netherlands, sales of NLG 4.7 billion were achieved, a 6.5% rise. Sales for Albert Heijn Albert Heijn B.V. is a supermarket chain founded in 1887 in Oostzaan, the Netherlands. It is named after Albert Heijn senior, the founder of the first store which was a small grocery store in Oostzaan. , including the Primarkt supermarket chain acquired last year, increased by 7.1%. Sales by Schuitema to affiliated supermarket operators grew by 6.2%. Both Albert Heijn and Schuitema improved their market share. Ahold Specialty Stores, Etos and Gall & Gall realized higher sales. Ahold Institutional Food Supply also noted a sales increase. Sales in Other European Countries (Poland, Portugal, Spain and the Czech Republic Czech Republic, Czech Česká Republika (2005 est. pop. 10,241,000), republic, 29,677 sq mi (78,864 sq km), central Europe. It is bordered by Slovakia on the east, Austria on the south, Germany on the west, and Poland on the north. ) totaled NLG 694.3 million, a 32.4% increase from last year (1996: NLG 524.5 million). In Portugal (Pingo Doce Pingo Doce is the largest supermarket chain in Portugal, owned by Jerónimo Martins. In the 1990s, Jerónimo Martins acquired Brazilian supermarket chain Sé Supermercados, which became the Brazilian equivalent to Pingo Doce. and Feira Nova Feira Nova is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Sergipe. Its population was 5,476 (2005) and its area is 188 km².[1] References 1. ^ IBGE - [1] ), the sales increase amounted to 11.7%, while in the Czech Republic (Mana and Sesam) sales increased due to further expansion of the number of stores. Activities in Poland and Spain, for the first time included in the consolidation, were still modest in scope (sales of NLG 68.2 million). Sales for activities in Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. , also included for the first time in the consolidation, were NLG 452.9 million, while sales in the Asia Pacific region amounted to NLG 257.2 million. Operating results up by 74.1% to NLG 476.9 million In the first quarter operating results of NLG 476.9 million were achieved (1996: NLG 274.0 million), up 74.1%. This strong increase is chiefly explained by the consolidation of Stop & Shop. In the United States operating results were USD USD In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the U.S. Dollar. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 159.1 million, a 144.4% rise over the first quarter of 1996. This very strong increase was particularly influenced by the operating result of Stop & Shop. BI-LO, Giant (incl. Edwards) and Tops (incl. Finast) also posted considerably higher operating results. Operating results in The Netherlands were NLG 165.5 million (1996: NLG 150.7 million), up 9.8%. Albert Heijn posted again higher operating results, as did Schuitema. Operating results for Ahold Specialty Stores and the production companies were somewhat lower, while Ahold Institutional Food Supply had an increase. In Other European Countries operating results amounted to NLG 34.3 million, slightly higher than last year. In Portugal, a notably higher operating result was achieved. As a result of one-time costs, operating results in the Czech Republic were slightly negative. Start-up losses in Poland and Spain were booked against the operating result for Other European Countries. For Latin America (Brazil), operating results were NLG 15.8 million, meeting expectations. The Asia Pacific region had as expected an operating loss operating loss The excess of operating expenses over revenue. As with operating income, operating losses exclude revenues and expenses from operations that are not considered a regular part of the business. Also called deficit. Compare operating income. of NLG 15.0 million. This reflects start-up costs for new activities in this region. To provide a clearer picture of the developments at Dutch operating companies operating company A business that engages in transactions with outsiders. , corporate costs will henceforth be reported separately. The corporate costs for the first quarter 1997 were NLG 21.0 million (1996: NLG 14.2 million). The increase is predominantly from expenses related to start-up activities. Net financial expense Net financial expense amounted to minus NLG 137.9 million (1996: minus NLG 74.8 million). The increase was caused by the consolidation of the interest expenses of Stop & Shop and, to a lesser extent, by the financing of other new activities. The higher dollar exchange rate also had a negative effect. Tax burden The tax burden, expressed as a percentage of earnings before taxes, increased to 28.3% (1996: 26.1%). This rise reflects a change in the composition of earnings before taxes. Equity ratio Group equity, expressed as a percentage of the balance sheet total rose to 18.7% (year-end 1996: 18.5%). Capital accounts amounted to 21.2% of the balance sheet total (year-end 1996: 21.2%). Stockholders' equity Stockholders' Equity The portion of the balance sheet that includes capital received from investors in exchange for stock (paid-in capital), donated capital, and retained earnings. This is equal to total assets minus liabilities, preferred stock and intangible assets. amounted to NLG 2.6 billion (year-end 1996: NLG 2.4 billion). First quarter 1997 net earnings after deduction of the preferred dividend were added to stockholders' equity. Goodwill paid for acquisitions of NLG 257 million (mainly for Thailand) was fully charged to stockholders' equity. Outlook 1997 Based on the current state of affairs, the Ahold Corporate Executive Board confirms the expectation expressed in the annual report that consolidated net earnings for 1997 will increase considerably. Earnings per share in 1997 will also be significantly higher. 3:1 Stock split The General Meeting of Shareholders has approved a three-for-one stock split, to be effective July 21, 1997. The split will also apply to Ahold's ADRs traded on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. . Royal Ahold (Koninklijke Ahold nv) is a leading international food retailer with 1996 sales of $21 billion and 3,000 stores and 190,000 employees worldwide. Ahold is the leading food retailer in Holland, one of the top 5 in the US, and has major operations in several countries in Southern and Central Europe Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. In addition, Northern, Southern and Southeastern Europe may variously delimit or overlap into Central Europe. , Latin America and Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, region of Asia (1990 est. pop. 442,500,000), c.1,740,000 sq mi (4,506,600 sq km), bounded roughly by the Indian subcontinent on the west, China on the north, and the Pacific Ocean on the east. . Ahold USA is a leader on the East Coast, operating the BI-LO, Giant Food Stores, Tops Markets, and Stop & Shop companies encompassing 800 stores with sales of $11 billion. In addition to its listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: AHO), Ahold's shares are traded on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange
The Amsterdam Stock Exchange is the former name for the stock exchange based in Amsterdam. , on the Zurich Stock Exchange, and on the Brussels Stock Exchange Brussels Stock Exchange (BSE) Stock exchange that handles the majority of securities transactions in Belgium. . Ahold ordinary shares may be accessed on the Reuter Equities 2000 Service under the symbol AHLN.AS and on Quotron under the symbol AHOLN.EU. Additional information is available on Ahold's home page: http://www.ahold.nl. -0- FOR TABULAR INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL TAYLOR RAFFERTY ASSOCIATES AT 212-889-4350 CONTACT: Hans Gobes Royal Ahold 011-31-75-659-5665 or After office hours office hours, n.pl See business hours. : 011-31-23-527-0456 or Jeff Zelkowitz Taylor Rafferty Associates 212-889-4350 |
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