UPDATE 4-Ahold boosted by U.S. outperformance, eyes deals

* Q2 operating profit 347 mln euros vs forecast 334 mln

* U.S. underlying sales up 0.5 pct vs forecast up 0.4 pct

* Dutch underlying sales up 3.5 pct, boosted by World Cup

* Trading conditions to stay tough in all markets

* May be interested in A&P stores,won't rush into deals

(Adds more CEO comments, updates shares)

By Mark Potter

LONDON, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Dutch grocer Ahold (AHLN.AS) posted a small rise in quarterly underlying sales in its main U.S. market, bucking the trend in an industry which has been hit hard by fears over the strength of the economic recovery.

The group, which owns Dutch market leader Albert Heijn but makes 60 percent of its sales in the United States, said on Thursday it expected trading to stay tough in all of its markets, but was confident of coping thanks to a drive to lower prices and cut costs that started in 2006, ahead of many rivals.

Chief Executive John Rishton also said he was still looking for potential acquisitions and could be interested in some shops of troubled U.S. rival Great Atlantic & Pacific (A&P) GAP.N.

However, he would not be rushed into spending Ahold's cash pile of over 2 billion euros ($2.5 billion) and signalled it could return more money to investors if the right opportunities did not come along.

"We're well aware of the inefficiency of it (Ahold's balance sheet), and we're well aware of the opportunities that sit in the market," he told analysts on a conference call.

German retailer Tengelmann, which owns 41.2 percent of A&P, said on Thursday it expected the U.S. group would be combined with another retailer in the long term. [ID:nFAB015745]

"They have some stores we'd be interested in," Rishton said, while adding that A&P's recent decision to close 25 stores was his "favourite form of consolidation."

A&P owns the Pathmark chain which Ahold was prevented from buying in 2000 by U.S. competition regulators.

Ahold, which runs over 2,900 stores in 11 countries, said second-quarter operating profit rose 18 percent to 347 million euros ($439 million), beating an average forecast of 334 million in a Reuters poll of 9 analysts.

However, net profit rose just 3 percent to 202 million euros, missing analysts' average estimate of 221 million due largely to a one-off tax charge at a Scandinavian joint venture.

A&P and another of Ahold's big U.S. rivals, Supervalu (SVU.N), both recently reported big falls in quarterly underlying sales. [ID:nN27157018] [ID:nN23154893]

Financially stronger competitors Wal-Mart (WMT.N), the world's biggest retailer, and Delhaize (DELB.BR), also posted lower same-store U.S. sales. [ID:nLDE67A0YB] [ID:nN17234410] <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For a graphic on global retailers please see:

r.reuters.com/myj27n ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

WORLD CUP

Ahold, which runs U.S. chains Stop & Shop, Giant-Landover and Giant-Carlisle, said sales at U.S. stores open over a year rose 0.5 percent excluding fuel in the 12 weeks to July 18.

That compares with a 0.1 percent fall in the first quarter and analysts' average forecast for a 0.4 percent increase.

"These results should be well received by investors, especially in light of recent reports for U.S. competitors," said Bernstein analyst Chris Hogbin.

Ahold shares were down 0.3 percent at 9.64 euros by 1320 GMT, off an early high of 9.83 euros.

Same-store sales in the Netherlands climbed 3.5 percent, in line with expectations.

Rishton said about 1 percent of that figure could be attributed to sales of goods related to the Holland team's progress to the final of the soccer World Cup last month, which helped to boost demand for beer and snacks.

Ahold, which is also looking for acquisition opportunities in Europe, said group sales rose 10.8 percent, or 4.4 percent at constant exchange rates, to 7.1 billion euros. The underlying retail operating margin improved 30 basis points to 5.2 percent. ($1=.7901 Euro) (Editing by David Cowell)