Online sales help supermarket operator Ahold beats expectations

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Ahold Delhaize, a major operator of supermarket chains in the United States and Europe, on Wednesday reported better than expected first-quarter sales on the back of a strong performance online.

Net sales rose 5.8% at constant exchange rates to 18.3 billion euros ($22.2 billion), with online sales surging by 103%. A company compiled consensus forecast has predicted group sales of 17.4 billion euros.

Ahold said it was increasing its 2021 online sales outlook based on the performance.

($1 = 0.8247 euros)

(Reporting by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by David Goodman)