Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize (AD.AS)

Fundamental analysis

Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize (Dutch: Royal Ahold Delhaize) is a Dutch-Belgian retail and wholesale company. The company was formed in 2016 by the merger of Ahold (Netherlands) and Delhaize group (Belgium). Both companies have roots in the nineteenth century. The company currently operates 16 brands in nine countries. In the Czech Republic, the company is known for its local supermarket brand Albert.

The company is currently focusing on sales through its own brands. In 2023, sales from own brands totaled 54.8% of annual sales. The company is trying to focus on health food products in its portfolio.

The company’s total turnover was €88.6 billion. €55.5 billion was from the U.S., €34.1 billion was from Europe. Thus, two-thirds of sales came from the US, where the company has 9 brands. The largest of these is Food Lion, a chain with more than 1,100 stores.

The company sees potential for growth as nominal wages rise for employees in the countries where it operates.

Ahold Delhaize pays a dividend and has repurchased €1 billion in shares for 2023.

One of the big investors in Ahold is the Black Rock fund, which owns about 5% of the company.

2Q 2024 results

The company is slowly but surely getting into online shopping. It is introducing pickup points for purchases in the US. In Greece, it has started working with a food delivery company. Customers can get their groceries in as little as 60 minutes. The number of deliveries via DoorDash has doubled compared to Q1 2024.

Sales grew 1.2% to €22.349 billion. Online sales were up 4% to €2.23 billion.

EPS was 0.53.

Operating profit was 790 million Euro.

The dividend is planned at 0.50 euros per share. The company pays a dividend semi-annually.

Technical analysis

Volume of the stock stands at 1 million units traded.

Moving averages cross quite often. They are currently in an uptrend. However, the price has paused on resistance at 31.30 euros per share. The spread of the moving averages is starting to narrow.

The RSI is in the neutral zone. It has briefly got above 70 in the past months.

Conclusion

Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize is a European multinational company. Although it has two-thirds of its revenue from the US, one-third is European, giving it some geographic diversification of revenue. The company’s growth has followed the enrichment of its customers and the growth of real wages.

The company pays a regular dividend. In 2023, it was just over €1 per share. That’s a yield of more than 3%.

The stock responds solidly to resistance and supports. It currently holds a price range of 25 to 31 euros.