Supermarket group Ahold Delhaize said it predicts improving momentum in Europe and the US in the busy end-of-year quarter.
The group made the prediction on Wednesday after beating market expectations for third-quarter sales.
Its shares rose as much as 8% to €33.30 per share, their highest intraday price ever, boosted by Donald Trump's victory in the US Presidential election.
Bryan Garnier analyst Clément Genelot noted that Trump was expected to leave corporate tax unchanged, which he said was a key element in Ahold Delhaize's equity story.
The Dutch owner of Albert Heijn and Delhaize chains expects its European performance to improve in the fourth quarter, while US growth should be supported by price investments and customer value propositions, according to CEO Frans Muller.
That comes on the back of positive volume trends seen in October, he added.
Muller said, “In the US, we continue to see momentum building, and I expect further improvements in trends through the holiday season.”
The group operates Stop & Shop, Giant, Food Lion and Hannaford chains in the US.
Speaking about the US presidential election before the results were available, Muller told Reuters he is confident in the resilience of the group.
He said, “Since the 70s, we’ve had the footprint we have now and irrespective of the government and the White House President, we have been very well hosted in the US.”
Results
Ahold’s quarterly revenue grew 1% at constant exchange rates to €22 billion, while analysts had forecast €21.9 billion on average.
Solid trends in Europe, as well as recovery in the Belgian market, and a 5.1% rise in online sales, versus 2.9% last year supported that growth.
The group has said its omnichannel approach, which integrates physical shops, apps and websites, results in shoppers spending between 1.5 and three times more in its most mature markets.
It is targeting €1 billion in cost reductions this year to offset pressure on profit margins as food price inflation falls and consumers curb their spending.
It also announced a €1 billion share buyback for 2025 and reiterated its outlook for the full year 2024.
