THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Soaring online sales amid the global coronavirus pandemic boosted global retailer Ahold Delhaize's earnings in the third quarter, the company said Wednesday.
Net profit in the quarter was down 84.9% to 68 million euros due mainly to a 577 million-euro provision for a U.S. pension plan withdrawal. Underlying profit from continuing operations rose 8.6% to 530 million euros.
Net consumer online sales rose 62.6% at constant exchange rates to 1.78 billion euros. Growth in the United States was even higher at 114.7%.
Costs associated with the coronavirus were around 140 million euros in the third quarter, taking pandemic-related costs to 470 million euros for the year so far.
“As COVID-19 continues to impact our communities, I am increasingly proud of our teams’ performance," CEO Frans Muller said.
The company raised its outlook for underlying earnings per share, saying it now expects growth to be in the “high-20% range.”
“While there remains a high level of uncertainty in the market, our strong year-to-date performance allows us to raise our 2020 underlying (earnings per share) outlook once again,” Muller said.
