Dutch retailer Ahold reports profit drop

Dutch retail giant Ahold on Thursday posted second-quarter profits down almost 29 per cent at 147 million euros ($195 million), hit by unfavourable exchange rates and despite a jump in online sales. Profits for the same period last year were 206 million euros, the company said in a statement. Turnover fell by 4.1 per cent to 7.4 billion euros, although the drop would have been just 1.1 per cent at fixed rates. Ahold partly explained the drop by the timing of Easter this year, as well as a ‘challenging competitive environment’ and a weak dollar. Worldwide online sales were however up 18.6 per cent at 273 million euros, Ahold said. The company also paid 12 million euros in charges related to settling a class action suit against a former Ahold subsidiary in the US for price fixing between 1998 and 2005. Ahold owns about 3,100 stores in North America and Europe and employs around 222,000 people, according to AFP.