Dive Brief:
- Royal Ahold said its sales and earnings rose in its third quarter, boosted by results from its U.S. stores.
- But the Dutch owner of the Stop & Shop and Giant supermarket chains said it did not expect any additional growth in the U.S. for the remainder of the year.
- Royal Ahold's earnings were also hurt by the company's continuing efforts to cut retail prices and to increase investment in online operations such as Peapod.
Dive Insight:
Royal Ahold's profit margin shrunk to 3.8% in its quarter from 4% a year earlier. Certainly that's not good news. Perhaps more troubling is that operating income fell 5.5%, and shares fell in Amsterdam on the news. Still, as bad as its third quarter looks, it's considerably improved from the dismal performance in its second quarter.