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32
Group financial review (continued)
Ahold USA
Ahold at a glance I Business review I Governance I Financials I Investors
million
2015
(53 weeks)
2014
(52 weeks)
Change versus
prior year
change
Net sales
26,350
25,976
374
1.4%
Net sales
23,732
19,557
4,175
21.3%
Operating income
974
965
9
0.9%
Operating income
878
727
151
20.8%
Adjusted for:
Impairments
20
10
10
(Gains) Losses on the sale of assets
(11)
(6)
(5)
Restructuring and related charges and other items
53
7
46
Underlying operating income
1,043
980
63
6.4%
Underlying operating income
940
738
202
27.4%
Underlying operating income margin
4.0%
3.8%
0.2% pt
This increase was mainly driven by 09% growth
in identical sales and was a result of a higher
average purchase amount per visit; the conversion
of 25 acquired A&P stores (which contributed
approximately 0.6% to the sales growth); and the
opening of four new stores versus 2014 (which
contributed approximately 0.3% to the sales growth).
During 2015, Ahold USA completed the rollout
of the first waves of its program to improve its
customer proposition through targeted price
reductions and marketing, an improved
"Fresh" offering, and an enhanced customer
experience through in-store merchandising
and employee engagement.
In 2015, net sales for Ahold USA were
€23,732 million, up by 21.3%, or €4,175 million
compared to 2014. At constant exchange rates,
net sales were up by 1.4%.
Net sales growth was affected by lower gasoline
sales, primarily due to a sharp decline in gasoline
prices (approximately 30%). Identical gasoline
volumes were down by 4.1%. Excluding gasoline,
net sales at constant rates were 3.8% higher than
in 2014, or, compared to the adjusted 2014 sales,
higher by 1.8%.
Ahold
Annual Report 2015
Stores where the program has been rolled out
for more than a year continued to see positive
performance. By the end of 2015, Ahold had
transformed more than 470 produce departments
and more than 200 bakery departments.
Our online business, Peapod, continued to grow
in its existing market area and the expansion in the
New York City area accelerated as further capacity
became available at the New Jersey facility.
Operating income increased by €151 million,
or 20.8%, to €878 million compared to 2014.
Underlying operating income is adjusted for the
following items, which impacted operating income:
a Impairments: The 2015 impairment charges
amounted to €20 million and in 2014 impairment
charges amounted to €10 million. The impairments
related mainly to underperforming stores.
a (Gains) Losses on the sale of assets: No individually
significant gains or losses were recorded in 2015
or 2014.
a Restructuring and related charges and other items:
The 2015 charges increased by €46 million
compared to 2014. The increase was primarily
due to a restructuring of the Ahold USA support
office in 2015 (affecting operating income
negatively by €14 million), as well as an early
retirement incentive offered to Giant Landover store
employees (impact of €17 million). In addition
it included an €11 million charge from the
withdrawal from a multi-employer pension plan.
In 2015, underlying operating income at
Ahold USA was €940 million, up by €202 million,
or 274%, from €738 million in 2014. At constant
exchange rates, underlying operating income at
Ahold USA increased by 6.4%.
Ahold USA's underlying operating income
margin in 2015 was 4.0%, up 0.2 percentage
points compared to 2014. The improvement
reflects better operational performance across our
business. Favorable commodity prices, and lower
gasoline sales, due to falling gasoline prices, with
a higher margin had a positive impact on the
operating margin, but were largely offset by lower
reimbursements on pharmacy products.
In a highly competitive landscape, market share
was up, mainly driven by the New York Metro
division and its acquisition of 25 A&P stores.
During 2015, our U.S. businesses increased
own-brand penetration by 0.4 percentage
points to 38.0%, towards our ambition of 40%
in 2016.
