Grocer Ahold Reports Profit Rise

Ahold (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), owner of Stop & Shop and Giant supermarkets in the U.S., reported its fourth quarter profits rose $361 million for the fourth quarter, an increase of 9 percent from last year.

According to The New York Times, the company attributed the sales jump to two years of changes at its U.S. business, including lowering prices, simplifying its product selection and redesigning stores. Many of these changes were implemented before the economic crisis, in light of the company’s own problems with an accounting scandal in 2003.

The U.S. group generates more than half of the company’s sales.