Supermarket group Ahold booked net sales of €7b in the fourth quarter of 2010, an increase of 5.5% over the fourth quarter of 2009, the company said in a trading update on Thursday.

Without corrections for exchange rates and extra shopping days, the increase would have been 2.9%.
For the full year 2010, net sales were €29.5b, up 4.4% after adjustments and 5.7% on a non-adjusted basis.
‘We delivered strong sales performance in all of our markets. The environment remained challenging and customers continued to focus on value, driving intense promotional activity, particularly in the United States,’ the company said in a statement.