By Ian Walker 



  Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize NV on Wednesday raised its guidance for the year as it reported market-beating net profit for the second quarter due to "unprecedented" demand in both the U.S. and Europe. 


  The Netherlands-based owner of grocery chains such as Stop & Shop and Giant Food made a net profit for the quarter of 693 million euros ($818.1 million) compared with EUR334 million for the same period last year. Consensus estimates taken from the company's website and based on 18 analysts' forecasts projected a result of EUR404 million. 


  Underlying earnings per share--one of the company's key metrics that strips out exceptional and other one-off items--rose to 65 European cents a share compared with 35 cents for the second quarter of 2019. 


  Ahold said it now expects to report low-to-mid 20% growth in underlying EPS, compared with previous guidance of mid-single-digit range this year. 


  Net sales for the quarter rose 16% at constant exchange rates to EUR19.10 billion from EUR16.32 billion a year before, the company said. In the U.S. comparable sales excluding fuel were up 21% in the quarter, while European sales were up 10%, Ahold Delhaize said. 


  The board has declared a dividend of 50 European cents a share, up from 30 cents a share for the second quarter of 2019. 


  Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com