2Q Delhaize
E' andato meglio del previsto ma ci sono preoccupazioni per la Food Lion ed Hannaford and Sweet Bay in quanto le loro vendite sono si' aumentate a causa dei prezzi competitivi che hanno saputo praticare ma esiste un serio timore circa le politiche di prezzo che i loro competitor sempre in USA stanno per fare, che andranno ad erodere i loro margini.
Il resto lo lascio al lettore, pardon lettrice
BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--Belgian supermarket operator Delhaize Group (DEG) Thursday confirmed its full-year outlook after posting a 26% rise in second-quarter operating profit due to cost cutting and solid U.S. earnings, but it also raised concerns about a deepening price war in the U.S.
The company - which operates the Food Lion, Hannaford and Sweet Bay chains in the U.S., as well as Delhaize supermarkets in Belgium - saw its U.S. sales grow in the second quarter, even in dollar terms, because it offered comparatively low prices and aggressively promoted its own value-brands. However, competitors have pledged to aggressively cut their own prices, raising fears that Delhaize's advantage might be eroded.
Delhaize has more than half its 2,670 stores in the east of the U.S. and generates about 70% of its revenues there. Its U.S. net sales were EUR3.53 billion in the second quarter, up from EUR2.97 billion a year earlier, as the strong dollar buoyed earnings in euro terms. The company also said the average number of transactions, and the number of items bought at each transaction, increased, and it was helped because both the Easter and 4th of July holidays fell in the second quarter. At constant currency rates, sales were up 3.4%.
But last week Supervalu Inc. (SVU), one of Delhaize's main competitors in the U.S., said it would aggressively cut prices after its earnings tumbled 30% as customers shunned its undiscounted foods. Supervalu Chief Executive Craig Herkert said that its attempts to use only limited discounts to lure customers to full-priced goods hadn't worked.
Amid signs of an intensifying price war among U.S. retailers, Safeway Inc. (SWY) the previous week reduced its outlook for the year, citing customers shifting purchases to lower-priced goods. Its CEO, Steven Burd, said the company was having to cut prices in areas it hadn't wanted to because rivals were doing the same.
Delahaize's CEO Pierre-Olivier Beckers defended the company's position, saying it was protecting its markets "very well" and its price positioning was still very competitive.
The company is "particularly satisfied with our continued positive comparable store sales," which were achieved through "sharp prices and targeted promotional offers," Beckers said. Same store sales rose 0.2% in the U.S. and 1.9% in Belgium in the second quarter.
However, Chief Financial Officer Stefan Descheemaeker said the company could only maintain its full-year guidance, despite the second-quarter profit rise, because it was facing the intensified price war and because comparative figures for the second half of the year were very strong.
The company still expects 2009 operating profit to be flat or grow up to 3%, which translates to 3.5% to 6.5% growth at constant currencies.
Delhaize's operating profit - seen as the best measure of profits because net profit is often impacted by varying tax rates - was EUR244 million in the three months to June 30, up from EUR194 million a year earlier and better than the 21% increase that analysts forecast.
Total sales increased 14% to EUR5.08 billion from EUR4.45 billion, above analyst' estimates of EUR5.03 billion. The sales figure was boosted by the strength of the dollar against the euro. At identical exchange rates sales increased 3.6%, the company said.
Net profit came in at EUR125 million, up from EUR116.3 million a year earlier. The figure was affected by much higher taxes and interest payments. The tax rate during the comparison quarter was a record low 22.6%, compared with the 34.8% the company faced during this quarter.
Its operating margin, which analysts follow closely to know the overall profitability per product sold, came in at 4.8% of sales, up from 4.4% a year earlier.
Bank Degroof analyst Ivan Lathouders called the like-for-like sales growth in the second quarter impressive given the price war, but warned that any future operating improvements would be checked by a weaker dollar and a further deterioration of operating conditions.
Delhaize's shares opened up 1.7% on the back of the positive second-quarter results, but by 1130 GMT, were trading down 2.7% at EUR49.3 due to the concerns about Delhaize's U.S. operations.
One analyst, who declined to be named, said the strength of the company's U.S. operating margins might mean it hadn't invested enough in its price position and that could come back to sting it in the second half of the year.
Delhaize's Belgian sales rose 3.3% to EUR1.13 billion, from EUR1.10 billion. The company said it was winning market share mainly from the cheap discounters such as Germany's Lidl due to its improved price position.
In Greece, where the company operates the 201-store Alfa-Beta chain, sales continued growing, rising 11.4% to EUR367 million, from EUR330 million.
