...Fitch Ratings has affirmed US and European food retailer Ahold Delhaize NV's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured rating at 'BBB'. The Outlook has been changed to `Positive' from `Stable'. The Outlook change reflects our expectation that Ahold Delhaize's credit metrics should improve over the rating horizon to a level commensurate with a `BBB+' rating. Ahold Delhaize displays an enhanced business profile since the merger which took place in July 2016. The group now benefits from larger scale, and is a very relevant player in several states of the US with well recognised local brands. It also remains the market leader in the Netherlands and in Belgium. The group has strong credit metrics, and we expect leverage to improve over the next few years thanks to free cash flow generation capacity. However, a persisting and severe deflation in the US food retail market or a financial strategy aimed at returning most of the cash to shareholders could prevent this de-leveraging,...
