Albert Heijn’s parent company reports less than 1% Q4 revenue rise as dollar weakens

Ahold Delhaize, the Dutch retail group behind Albert Heijn, Etos, Gall & Gall, and bol.com, said Thursday that its fourth-quarter revenue grew by less than 1 percent, primarily because of a weaker U.S. dollar. Without negative currency effects, revenue would have risen 6.1 percent to 23.5 billion euros. The United States remains the company’s largest market, accounting for nearly 60 percent of total revenue.

Growth in the quarter was driven largely by European operations, which rose nearly 11 percent. The earlier acquisition of Romanian supermarket chain Profi contributed significantly to this increase. In the U.S., where Ahold Delhaize owns Food Lion, Giant, and Stop & Shop, sales grew only 2.5 percent.

The company said revenue was further affected by the discontinuation of tobacco sales in Belgium and adverse weather conditions in the U.S. Online sales performed strongly, with Albert Heijn’s online supermarket, bol.com, and other digital operations reporting nearly 13 percent growth.

Operating profit for the quarter increased to 899 million euros, a nearly 50 percent jump from the same period last year. Ahold Delhaize projects a 2026 profit margin around 4 percent, compared with 4.2 percent in the fourth quarter. The company also expects its recent acquisition of Belgian neighborhood stores Delfood to add more than 200 million euros in revenue this year.