Cyberattack Costs Ahold Delhaize Up to €250 Million in Lost Revenue

Ahold Delhaize expects a revenue loss of 200 à 250 million euros following a major cyberattack in October that forced the Dutch multinational supermarket group to idle distribution centers and pull websites offline, De Tijd reported.

Retail Network Hit by Logistics Bottlenecks and Profit Losses

The digital breach caused severe logistics bottlenecks across the company’s retail network. Empty store shelves and canceled home deliveries marked the immediate aftermath as IT systems were taken offline to contain the threat. According to figures outlined by NOS, the resulting profit hit will range between 75 and 100 million euros.

While the worst of the disruption was brought under control within two weeks, recovery work on normal operations has stretched on. Operating over 9,000 stores in nine countries, the Zaandam-headquartered retailer posted a group revenue of 23,1 miljard euro for the third quarter, representing a 1.9 percent increase year-on-year, or 2.6 percent excluding unfavorable currency shifts. Operating income for the same period rose over 7 percent to 976 million euros.

Analyst Lowers Price Target Following Profit Hit

Degroof Petercam analyst Fernand de Boer lowered the price target for Ahold Delhaize from 40.00 to 38.00 euros while maintaining a hold rating, estimating the total revenue impact at 600 million euros and the EBIT reduction at 150 million euros, as reported by Beursduivel.be. De Boer noted that these headwinds likely mean the parent company will miss its full-year outlook.

Compounding the operational strain, subsidiary Delhaize faced a separate IT incident involving cooling systems, part of a broader wave of digital intrusions hitting European supermarket chains. Amid these headwinds, the full-year profit outlook has been revised downward from around 4 percent to nearing 4 percent, with earnings per share expected to grow by low single-digit percentages rather than the previously anticipated mid-to-high single digits.