Supermarket giant Ahold reports 78% surge in second quarter earnings amid coronavirus

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Ahold Delhaize NV , a major operator of supermarket chains in the United States and Europe, on Wednesday reported better-than-expected sales and underlying operating income for the second quarter of 2020, as coronavirus lockdowns pushed extra traffic through its stores and online delivery.

Underlying operating income was 1.01 billion euros ($1.19 billion), up 78% from 594 million euros in the same period a year ago, on comparable sales of 19.1 billion euros, up 15.9%.

Analysts in a company-compiled poll had forecast underlying operating income at 640 million euros on sales of 18.0 billion euros.

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Tom Hogue)