Ahold Q4 Net Profit Up on Dutch Boost, Shares Rise

By Foo Yun Chee

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch supermarket group Ahold NV (AHLN.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) posted a forecast-beating fourth-quarter net profit on Thursday, powered by its domestic unit, and gave a strong outlook, shaking off concerns about the slowing U.S. economy.

Ahold, which owns the Netherlands' biggest supermarket chain, Albert Heijn, but derives just over half of its sales in the United States, said profit rose 9 percent to 262 million euros ($397.8 million), beating the average forecast of 159 million in a Reuters poll of 14 analysts.

The supermarket group, the seventh biggest in the world by sales, had 2.9 billion euros in full-year net income, and said it would pay a dividend of 0.16 euros per share, its first in five years after an accounting scandal in 2003.

Ahold shares were up 2.4 percent at 9.02 euros by 0817 GMT, outperforming a 0.4 percent rise in the DJ Stoxx retail index .

"The results are very strong, especially Albert Heijn with a stunning margin of 8 percent in the fourth quarter," said SNS Securities analyst Richard Withagen.

He said a lower tax rate also boosted earnings.

Dutch market leader Albert Heijn, with 1,711 stores across the Netherlands, boosted operating income by 61 percent to 161 million euros, accounting for two-thirds of the group core profit of 253 million euros.

Market trends in the U.S. and Europe in the first eight weeks of this year remained similar to last year, but the group was on alert for any change, Ahold Chief Executive John Rishton told reporters on a conference call.