Delhaize Group 2012 results

Financial Highlights 2012 (at identical exchange rates)
Revenue growth of 2.9%; organic revenue growth of 2.1%
62% of the Food Lion brand repositioning completed
Underlying operating profit decline of 17.5%
Free cash flow generation of EUR772 million at actual exchange rates
Proposed full year gross dividend of EUR1.40 per share

Financial Highlights Fourth Quarter 2012 (at identical exchange rates)
Revenue growth of 0.3%; organic revenue growth of 2.5%
Positive comparable store sales and volume growth at Food Lion
Underlying operating margin of 3.6%; impacted by ongoing price investments

Appointments
Proposed appointment of Ms. Elizabeth Doherty as new independent Director
CEO Comments
Pierre-Olivier Beckers, President and Chief Executive Officer of Delhaize Group, commented: "As indicated in January, our financial results in 2012 were within guidance. We are particularly pleased by our strong free cash flow generation and we believe that we will generate an average of approximately EUR500 million free cash flow per annum over 2013-2015."
"In 2013, we will remain focused on accelerating the progress at Food Lion, revitalizing Delhaize Belgium and driving growth in Southeastern Europe. We aim to remain relevant to our customers, continuing our sustainable price policies and accelerating revenue growth. We will fund this through a combination of disciplined capital allocation and cost control. The decision to decrease the dividend this year is a clear example of Delhaize Group's commitment to maintaining its financial strength and achieving revenue growth."
"We remain encouraged by the continuation of several positive trends we experienced during the fourth quarter of 2012, particularly in the U.S. Over time, we believe that Delhaize Group has the ability to improve its operating performance in all of its markets, by staying focused on sustainable revenue growth and strict cost management. We are looking forward to provide further updates on our strategic progress on May 8 at the occasion of our Q1 release and Capital Markets Day."

Press release and presentation in pdf format: http://hugin.info/133961/R/1683526/551016.pdf

This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Delhaize Group via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1683526]

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Source:
Delhaize Group 2012 results

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Europe Shifting to Digital Money and Online Sales for Micropayment Finds Frost & Sullivan

The micropayments market is set to grow rapidly in Europe. Overall, cash payments are decreasing in the region, and though they still remain the preferred means of payment, the emergence of micropayment solutions and products is fuelling the shift to digital money. In fact, defining a single direction for the European market, optimising fee structure and risk management, and enhancing end-user experience will surely boost the use of prepaid, online and contactless solutions for small payments.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan on Opportunities in the Micropayments Market finds that the growth of micropayments solutions will be driven by the usage of pre-paid, contactless, and mobile payment solutions. The analysis determines that use of contactless payment cards systems in Europe is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28.7 per cent from 2011 to 2017. Likewise, with the massive adoption of smartphones and increasing penetration of tablets in Europe, mobile commerce will record a CAGR of 10.6 per cent between 2011 and 2018.

The shift to digital money has a substantial benefit for banks and governments alike. In Europe, the cost of handling cash is high. The European Payment Council (EPC) is working on ways to improve processes and reduce the total cost. "The process of production, transportation, protection and destruction of cash is complex and expensive, and with only 30 per cent of the produced money in circulation, governments are looking to optimise the national cost of cash," said Frost & Sullivan ICT Global Program Director Jean-No?l Georges. "The economic crisis has also forced governments to streamline tax collection and fight against shadow markets through the use of electronic money and associated Web services."

Moving away from cash, however, comes with many challenges attached. The preference for cash payment among the older generation of users, issues with the business model and lack of infrastructure as well as a clear marketing message have pegged back market growth in the short term.

Consumers have shown varying degrees of readiness to adopt contactless cards. Frost & Sullivan believes that education on the user and merchant sides, with a strong focus on the security features of contactless technologies, will help to popularise the usage of contactless cards, and potentially, of contactless-based mobile payments.

As of now, the future of prepaid cards and prepaid mobile solutions seems brighter. "Turning cash into electronic funds in a stored value account is currently the best approach," noted Georges. "A flexible solution, which includes issuing a prepaid mobile payment account where customers can load the money through peer-to-peer transfers, cash deposits or bank cards and then use the prepaid value with merchants, will encourage non-cash payments."

Lastly, cloud-based mobile payments are also expected to contribute to the expansion of the micropayments market. "Cloud-based m-payments, in principle, are an extension of the traditional online commerce market. However, we believe that as cloud-based m-payment matures, and its awareness among consumers and merchants increase, the solution will play an important role for the in-store payments and micropayments markets," said Georges.

Creating marketing and promotional tools based on target groups and offering aggressive awards and discount programs will also spur demand for micropayments.

If you are interested in more information on this research, please send an email to Joanna Lewandowska, Corporate Communications, at joanna.lewandowska[.]frost.com, with your full contact details.

Opportunities in the Micropayments Market (9A68-67) is part of ICT Market Insights, which includes research services such as: Cloud Computing in the European Banking Sector, ICT in European Financial Services: A CIO Perspective, ICT Market in European Banking Sector - Market Model, and European Payment Processing Platform Market. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

About Frost & Sullivan
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Our "Growth Partnership" supports clients by addressing these opportunities and incorporating two key elements driving visionary innovation: The Integrated Value Proposition and The Partnership Infrastructure.

The Integrated Value Proposition provides support to our clients throughout all phases of their journey to visionary innovation including: research, analysis, strategy, vision, innovation and implementation.
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Article source: Newswire Today

Source:
Europe Shifting to Digital Money and Online Sales for Micropayment Finds Frost & Sullivan

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