Food retailing: FY Ahold (BUY) & Delhaize (Buy): strong end to the year (first take)
1/ Q4 again proved both Ahold and Delhaize’s resilience (Q4 current EBIT 10% above expectations at Ahold, very much in line at Delhaize); 2/ both have virtually no exposure to unwell emerging markets and hence 3/ offer better visibility on operating performances for 2016 than others; 4/ both enjoy some of the best FCF profiles within the sector; 5/ FY dividend up 8.3% at Ahold (EUR0.52) and 12.5% at Delhaize (EUR1.80); 5/ ultimately, via cost-sharing, the flirting between the two retailers offers an alternative within a sector which is suffering an obvious lack of growth. Buy maintained on both Ahold and Delhaize.
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