Ahold Delhaize says merger savings push up net profits

Net profit at Dutch-Belgian supermarket giant Ahold Delhaize, operator of U.S. chains including Stop & Shop and Giant, soared 68 percent in the second quarter to 355 million euros ($417 million) as the company benefited from savings generated by last year's merger of the Ahold and Delhaize groups.

The company said Wednesday that sales rose 67 percent to 16.1 billion euros ($19 billion) in the three months to the end of June with increases at the flagship Albert Heijn stores in the Netherlands and online both higher.

CEO Dick Boer says that a year after the merger, "the integration of the two companies is fully on track and delivering results."

Ahold Delhaize says revenue in the United States was boosted by inflation and synergy savings.