Dutch retail giant Ahold has reported a third-quarter net loss, as its results were impacted by exceptional costs and asset impairment charges.


The company reported a net loss of €166m (US$218.4m) for the third quarter of 2004, compared to a net loss of €100m in the year-ago quarter. The net loss was impacted mainly by an €87m exceptional loss related to the stake in joint venture ICA that the company was required to buy, and asset impairments of €130m.


Ahold’s third-quarter operating loss was €37m, compared to operating income of €34m a year earlier. Net sales slid 8.3% to €12.0bn. Excluding currency impact and divestments, sales growth was 0.8%.


“This quarter again shows that 2004 is very much a year of transition,” said Anders Moberg, Ahold president and CEO.


“Since the start of the third quarter, we’ve concluded several open issues and continued to focus our business. In brief, we’ve recently completed the ICA AB share transactions, reached final settlement with the SEC and the Dutch Public Prosecutor, divested our Spanish operations, transferred our controlling interest in Disco to Cencosud and started divesting our remaining 13 large Polish hypermarkets.”
 
Moberg said the company’s Albert Heijn, Giant-Carlisle and US Foodservice units showed an improved underlying performance in the third quarter, while results at Stop & Shop and Giant-Landover continued to reflect competitive pressure and integration issues.

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