Ahold Delhaize CEO Dick Boer addresses Annual General Meeting of shareholders
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
Zaandam, the Netherlands, April 12, 2017 - Ahold Delhaize today held its Annual
General Meeting (AGM). The meeting was attended by 231 shareholders,
representing approximately 1 billion shares.
Shareholders adopted Ahold Delhaize's 2016 financial statements and determined
the dividend over 2016 at ?0.57 per common share, to be paid on April 26, 2017.
Shareholders adopted all other proposals on the agenda, amongst others: the
reappointment of Jan Hommen and Ben Noteboom as members of the Supervisory Board
and the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers Accountants N.V. as external
auditor for the financial year 2017.
Below is the text of the speech as delivered by Chief Executive Officer Dick
Boer during the meeting.
Welcome to the first shareholder meeting of Ahold Delhaize, another milestone
for this company after completing our merger last July.
I will give you a brief overview of where we stand, what we stand for, what we
have delivered and where we are going.
We are Ahold Delhaize. An international retailer, comprising 21 great local
brands in 11 countries that are number one or two in the markets they serve;
powered by 370,000 associates working in more than 6,500 stores; demonstrating
proven skills in Fresh and own brands in both superior supermarkets as well as
omni-channel and digital platforms; focusing everyday on affordability for
customers and connection with communities; and leading our industry in
generating cash flows and returns for you, our shareholders.
Our brands define us and... we are Better Together.
Together, we build great local brands, bringing fresh inspiration every day.
This is our purpose. It is a simple sentence but it says a lot about who we
are.
Together means we share best practices, learn from each other. The brands,
associates, customers communities, we are all part of something bigger.
Great local brands: Local retail businesses, on three continents, are the core
of our strategy. Each operating its own brand.
Fresh inspiration: It's about "fresh", referring to our brands' fresh offering
which is fundamental for their stores. But it also means innovation and
eCommerce.
And the final element, Every Day. Food retailing is a daily business; both
brands and associates are there for customers every single day.
This purpose is a key element of our Better Together strategy I will discuss it
in more detail later.
Before we go forward let's look back. 2016 was a great year for us.
We completed the merger, with strong support from you. Thank you all.
We started delivering on our promises to you and all our stakeholders.
And, very importantly, we continued to deliver for customers thanks to the
diligence and hard work of associates across all brands.
The best measure of a retailer's success is customer response and the consumers
of our brands definitely responded well. This was shown in strong net promoter
scores, which give an indication of customer appreciation, and growing market
shares in most of our markets.
The numbers also reflected this. We increased sales, operating income and
margins for the year. Our Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Carr, will discuss this
in detail, but here are a few highlights.
Pro forma net sales rose 3.4% to ?62.3 billion, at constant exchange rates and
adjusted for the 53d week of 2015. This was driven in particular by the
Netherlands, Delhaize America, and Central and South-eastern Europe, thanks to
customer-focused strategies, smart promotions, and good store management.
We had a strong free cash flow, ?1.4 billion, which allows us to not only invest
and grow. It also enables us to return excess liquidity to you, our
shareholders.
As you know we started a ?1 billion share buyback program in January. And we
are pleased to propose a dividend of ?0.57 to our shareholders, an increase of
9.6% compared to Ahold last year. If you compare it to the old Delhaize shares
it would be up 50%, after adjusting for the merger conversion rate.
So in summary, it was a big performance in this special and intense year. I want
to give our associates a big compliment for that.
2016 was also significant because we developed and launched our Better Together
strategy.
In creating the strategy we looked both inside and outside our businesses.
Inside, we assessed our key strengths: with customers, with products, with
innovation, and with logistics; we have several, as you may imagine from
bringing together two retailers with a combined 280 years of heritage. We then
coupled those strengths with the broader external trends we see developing
across the world and in our markets.
Those trends include a continued focus by consumers on value. And that is not
only driven by an increased budget-consciousness in the wake of the economic
crisis. Being frugal is the new normal and it is easier than ever to compare
prices online.
A second trend is convenience, Customers - and millennials in particular - have
busy lifestyles and still want to eat healthy and sustainable food. So this
clearly drives the popularity of fresh ready meal offerings, sometimes consumed
"now" in store, at the office, and sometimes "later" at home.
A third major trend is health and wellbeing. Diet-related diseases like diabetes
and obesity are a growing global issue. And on the other hand, more and more
consumers are more conscious of the impact of food.
Finally, customers demand relevant and personalized offers and information. And
they want access to it at all times, a possibility since we are going digital.
Food retailers are evolving in line with these trends, our landscape is
changing. We see consolidation, we see new competitors coming in and our
traditional ones are upping their games as well. We not only need to adapt
constantly, we need to predict the next change and lead the way.
Both our key strengths and the key trends feed into the Better Together strategy
as a logical recipe for success, as a compass to guide us. And, I am happy to
say, I see that direction being embraced all around, in each market and store I
visit.
Our strategy contains several elements. I have already mentioned the Purpose.
The second element is our sustainable business model, shaped like a wheel that
we want to keep rolling.
The wheel starts with our commitment to continuously drive savings to invest in
the customer proposition and fund growth in our key channels. Saving to invest
is core to how we do business.
We save for customers by buying better, through long-term, durable relationships
with suppliers.
We can save for customers when we operate smarter.
Delhaize in Belgium, for example, in 2014 started a Transformation Plan to run
more efficiently. As part of the plan they implemented a new store organization
in all company-operated stores. They achieved good results on the cost side, and
now the focus is on fuelling the commercial side.
We also save for customers by wasting less. Here in the Netherlands, the Instock
team drives forward with their mission to reduce food waste. Instock was founded
by Albert Heijn trainees a few years ago. They rescue surplus food from Albert
Heijn stores for instance and turn it into delicious meals, in three restaurants
in Amsterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, and on the go in their Food truck.
Stop & Shop in the United States has built a green energy facility which turns
inedible food into clean energy that powers one of their distribution centers.
Saving for our customers allows us to invest and there we focus on four areas
which we see as key.
We want products to be affordable for all. We want to offer the best own brands.
We want products to be fresher & healthier. And we want our brands to offer the
most local and personal service.
Let's zoom in on fresher & healthier because I believe we are really making a
difference here. Across our brands the teams are working hard in this respect,
with product reformulation, cutting back on salt, sugar, and fat. Ahold USA took
out more 272 thousand pounds of sugar from products - the equivalent of 30
school buses - during 2016. Delhaize cut 25% of salt from 11 varieties from
bread.
And we're not doing it alone. Instead we're cooperating with our industry and in
many cases leading the way. For example, together with the food retailers and
manufacturers who are members of the Consumer Goods Forum.
Our brands also continue to surprise customers with innovative products that are
not only healthy but also tasty and convenient, like Albert Heijn's vegetable
spreads. And it is about information and education. In the U.S., the Guiding
Stars program that originated at Hannaford to provide a nutritional navigation
system will be adopted by more of our brands.
The third element in our sustainable business model is funding growth in key
channels. And our number one channel is, of course, supermarkets. What our
brands are doing with them makes me proud.
We are expanding, look at Mega Image in Romania which opened its 500th store.
We are making stores even more appealing for customers - look at Alfa Beta in
Greece which opened new flagship stores in Athens and Thessaloniki.
We are innovating the inside and outside of stores. Here in the Netherlands,
Albert Heijn opened a state of the art Albert Heijn XL store in Purmerend with
truly innovative features such as a fresh herb garden where customers can pick
their herbs. And it is their most sustainable store too, so it's also innovative
in terms of construction.
Or look at Hannaford's innovative store in Bedford, New Hampshire which really
caters to the needs of today's customers. For instance with made-to-order food
they can take out or enjoy at the store and fruits and vegetables cut at their
requests. The store has a pick up point for shopping done online. Learnings from
this great store will be deployed in other remodels.
But we of course also fund growth in our eCommerce brands, and they are growing
fast, at more than 27% growth in 2016. Bol.com grew consumer online sales even
by more than 30%. They increased service to customers by offering same-day
delivery to your home for instance. And to keep up with their growth, they are
building a new distribution centre in Waalwijk, which they expect will create
1,000 jobs in future in the region. AH.nl, also in the Netherlands, expanded and
now serves 25% more customers. Peapod, in the U.S. launched an own-brand line of
fresh meal kits.
As part of our Better Together strategy we have set ambitious 2020 growth
targets, to double online sales as we continue to capture opportunities across
our brands.
Our strategy is completed by values and promises, to customers, associates and
communities. A better place to shop, a better place to work and a better
neighbor - every day. All brands share these promises, but bring them to life
locally according to what is best for their customers. As an example, look at
Food Lion and their Easy Fresh and Affordable strategy.
In the examples I have shared I hope you have noticed that being a sustainable
retailer is embedded in our strategy. It's on our minds as we grow, innovate and
save.
All the brands of Ahold Delhaize share a commitment to making a positive impact
on the lives of customers, associates and communities they serve.
We focus on promoting healthier living, reducing food waste and creating a
healthy and inclusive workplace. And we have clear targets. By 2020, we want
45% of own brand sales to come from healthy products. I already shared some of
the big steps we are taking. We work to reduce food waste by 20 percent.
At the same time we continuously work on product safety and sustainability,
climate impact, associate development, safety at work, as areas we simply need
to get right.
And the same applies to local community connections, a natural and essential
part of who we are, and how our businesses can make a difference. Making a
difference, that is what all the brands are doing.
In order to continue to deliver, we will have to execute on our strategy and
drive change. We need to take full advantage of our combination by sharing and
learning from one another. They are keys to the success of our company. Think
about bol.com. They are able to build a unique experience for each customer,
based on browse, buy and response behavior, demographic and social-economic data
and timing and trigger events. Keep in mind, they have seven million active
customers in the Netherlands and Belgium and 47 million customer visits per
months, and over 15 million products, so they have a lot of data to build on. We
are already sharing some of their capabilities across our supermarket brands
now. That is just one example where we are already reaping the power of Ahold
Delhaize.
When we do fully realize our potential, our brands will be recognized by
customers, for being the most personal retailer. I have been in retail all my
life and one thing that I have learned that it is all about people. It is about
the connection and interaction, online and in stores, with customers but also
with all our other stakeholders. The brands in our group, each with its own
strong heritage and proposition, are uniquely positioned to have this local
connection.
We have excellent stores, as a physical location to welcome and inspire
customers and to connect their communities.
We have own brands which are loved by customers - a huge asset. If your store's
own brand is in your customer's fridge, then it becomes personal. They allow us
to distinguish from manufactures. And it is where we are innovative.
We have popular and growing loyalty programs.
And achieved more than ?2 billion in consumer online sales. Not bad for brands
that trace their roots to the 19th century.
Personal connections in this day and age - A great example is what Albert Heijn
is doing in this respect, with Appie Today, its own online TV channel.
In addition to our strategy which I just shared, we have also been working hard
on our integration. It is going well and we remain on track to deliver our
committed ?500 million synergy goal in 2019. As we've previously stated, this
will be delivered to the bottom line.
In 2017 we expect a total of ?220 million synergies, including the ?22 million
realized in 2016.
We were able to do this thanks to a strong leadership team we had in place from
the start. I want to thank our Supervisory Board for their support throughout
the merger process. The good interaction with them is key.
With our strategy set and integration on track, we are well positioned for
future success.
As Ahold Delhaize, we deliver both critical scale and local relevance to our
core markets and customers.
As Ahold Delhaize we have created a superior financial and strategic platform
for innovation, investment and growth, supported by our strong operating cash
flow.
As Ahold Delhaize we can provide more opportunities for our people and invest
more in our communities as part of our Sustainable Retailing commitment.
Finally, our strong presence on both sides of the Atlantic gives us the
opportunity to share local best practices across our network and learn from each
other.
Delhaize, our oldest brand, celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. Albert
Heijn turns 130 and Food Lion 60. We are proud of all our brands longevity and
heritage, but even more so of the fact that they reinvent and transform
themselves ever day to stay fresh and relevant to their customers. And it is
exactly this characteristic that enables us to define the future, instead of
letting it define us.
We are almost nine months into our merger. I have shared with you the important
progress we have made so far, while continuing to run our businesses. I have
also shared with you where we see this company going. I hope you will share my
satisfaction on our 2016 achievements, and more importantly, my excitement for
what lies ahead.
So thank you. Thank you to our customers, who trust us for their daily shopping
and inspire us. Thank you to all the associates in all the brands. To the
affiliates and franchisers.
And of course I want to thank you, our shareholders for your support and faith
in Ahold Delhaize.
170412_AGM_Ahold Delhaize :
http://hugin.info/130711/R/2095848/792848.pdf
This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.
The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Ahold Delhaize via GlobeNewswire
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 12.04.2017 - 16:50 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
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