A strong performance from Ahold's US division impressed analysts fearful that the economic slowdown across the Atlantic would hit sales at the Dutch food giant.
Posting 2000 sales figures ahead of its full year results in March, Ahold put in its best quarterly performance in the US since the beginning of 1999, assisted by the weakness of the euro against the dollar and by including its latest acquisition, US Foodservice, in the results.
Total sales were up 55.7% to 52.2bn euros, with sales in the US up 35.4%.
But a spokesman insisted the company's success in the US was not only down to the weak euro. "Every dollar we earn in the US is reinvested into the country, and we also gained market share in the last quarter. Food retailing is less influenced by economic crisis than non food."
At 3.2%, like for like sales in the US were "far better than I anticipated," noted one analyst, "especially considering no one else is showing much sign of sustainable like for like growth out there."
But he added: "We don't know at this stage whether panic buying due to bad weather was partly responsible for the strong last quarter."
Elsewhere, the figures were broadly in line with expectations, with sales down 15.4% in Asia largely due to the sale of operations in China and Singapore, but up 59.6% in Europe with the acquisition of Scandinavian chain ICA.
Ex-Metro board member and former Makro chief Theo de Raad joined Ahold's corporate executive board this month, and is due to join the group's Asian and Latin American operations in the autumn.
Ahold's Thai operation, which broke even at the end of last year, will benefit from a $6.9m investment this year, while the firm is also in discussions with consumer products companies to utilise extra space in Ahold's new distribution facility near Bangkok.
The group's Thai internet home shopping service may be extended to Malaysia in the future, but a spokesman anticipated the larger distances between customers and distribution facilities in Malaysia would make setting up home delivery there "very challenging".
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