Supermarket group Ahold on Tuesday announced a growth in overall sales of 4.4% in the first quarter and net profit of €1.9bn, well up on the €285m in the year-earlier period.

However, most of the net profit came from the sale of the Scandinavian supermarket chain ICA for €1.7bn.

Operating income dropped 16% to €345m mainly due to the settlement of a multi-employee pension plan for €63m in the US.

In a statement, CEO Dick Boer said the share buy-back programme has been increased from €500m to €2bn, to be completed by the end of 2014.

‘Our focus remains on strong capital discipline combined with a balanced approach between investing in profitable growth and providing attractive returns to shareholds,’ Boer said in the statement.