Supermarket group Ahold booked a drop of 14% in second quarter operating profit as price cuts and in-store promotions cut into its margins.

But Ahold, which earns over half of its sales in the US, said it would stick to its full year forecast of a 4.8% to 5.3% margin over 2008 as a whole.
Ahold booked net profit of €338m in the second quarter, including €162m from the sale of Schuitema. Second quarter earnings at the Netherlands’ biggest supermarket group Albert Heijn were up 6.2% at €138m.