First-quarter profits of Dutch-American Food Retailer, Royal Ahold has beaten the expectations of analysts.

The company has announced that its net income jumped to 291 million Euros in the 16 weeks ended on April 24, from 274 million Euros during the same quarter last year. The analysts have estimated the net income of the company to be around 279 million-euro.

Market experts have said that the sale of retailer’s Stop & Shop and Giant Landover outlets in the U. S. was fueled by the Easter holiday. Ahold’s outlets include Albert Heijn supermarkets and Etos drugstores in the Netherlands, and Giant grocers in the U. S.

Ahold Chief Executive Officer, Dick Boer said, “We delivered solid results and increased volumes in all our markets despite challenging market conditions with customers continuing to focus on value”.

Sale of the retailer in the US gained 1% and was at $7.6 billion, whereas the underlying retail operating margin in the country rose 4.6% from 4.2%, last year.

The shares of Ahold fell 17 cents, or 1.8% to 9.58 Euros in the early hours trading in Amsterdam. The shares of the retailer have fallen 13% this year, while that of its US competitor declined 10%.