S&P revises Delhaize view to positive

Standard & Poor's said it revised its outlook on Delhaize Group SA to positive from stable.

The BBB- long-term and A-3 short-term corporate credit ratings were affirmed. The BBB- issue ratings on the group's senior unsecured debt instruments were also affirmed.

S&P said the outlook revision reflects its view that Delhaize's performance is set to improve following the turnaround of its U.S. operations after several years of restructuring. In 2014, comparable store sales in this region rose 4.4% year-on-year compared with 2% in 2013 and a decline of 0.8% in 2012.

Although this came at the expense of the EBITDA margin, which decreased slightly, absolute underlying EBITDA increased by 2%-3% year on year in 2014 (excluding the impact of the 53rd week), the agency said.

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