Troubled Dutch retailer Royal Ahold has reported an 11.3% decline in first-quarter sales due to a difficult trading environment and foreign currency effects.
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The retailer reported consolidated sales for the first quarter to 20 April of €17.4bn (US$19.9bn), compared to €19.6bn in the year-ago period. Analysts polled by Reuters had been expecting sales of €18.9bn.
Ahold said sales excluding currency impact increased by 4.6% and organic sales growth excluding currency impact was 2.7%. Ahold’s sales results exclude sales of joint ventures and were unaudited.
In the US, Ahold’s retail sales rose 4.8% to US$8.3bn, while organic sales growth was also 4.8%. Comparable sales growth for the quarter was 2.4% and identical sales growth was 1.5%.
Sales at Ahold’s US foodservice operations slid 1.5% to $5.3bn.

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By GlobalDataIn Europe, Ahold’s sales rose 2.6% to €4.1bn. Organic sales growth, excluding currency impact was 2.7%.
In South America, where Ahold has operations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Peru, sales were up 42.7% to €580m, mainly due to the acquisition of the remaining shares of Disco. Organic sales growth, excluding currency impact, was 12.1%.
In Asia, where Ahold has operations in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, sales were down 10.0% to €109m in the first quarter. Organic sales growth, excluding currency impact, was 7.6%.