Brussels, May 22 - Belgian supermarket group Delhaize reiterated profit growth would come in the second half of the year while maintaining full-year forecasts.
The Belgian food retailer reported a worse-than-expected fall in first-quarter operating profit (EBIT) two weeks ago as the weak dollar bit into earnings and project and fuel costs rose.
"The situation in the first quarter has continued into the second so far," Chief Executive Pierre-Olivier Beckers told reporters after an annual shareholders meeting on Thursday.
"We have said profit growth will come in the second half."
Beckers said Delhaize was still managing to pass on inflation to customers, except in Belgium and at its U.S. chain Sweetbay where it had chosen to cap prices.
In Belgium, Delhaize has lost market share to local rival Colruyt and hard discounters Aldi and Lidl and has responded with a number of price initiatives, notably by expanding own-label products.
It argues prices at its stores are now on par with those of France's Carrefour in Belgium and the gap with Colruyt has narrowed sharply, although it says it still has to fight a perception of being more expensive.
The expansion of its own labels has borne fruit, notably in the United States where an economic slowdown has led consumers to trade down from household brands to Delhaize's products, for which the supermarket group's margins are higher.
"Long term we are very happy with this," Beckers said, adding that the company hoped to keep customers buying Delhaize label products even when the economy picked up.
Delhaize, which generates about 70 percent of its sales in the United States, has forecast that EBIT will grow by 6 to 8 percent this year and revenues by 4 to 5.5 percent, albeit based on constant exchange rates of $1.3705 to the euro.