May 6 (Reuters) - Supermarket group Ahold Delhaize AD.AS reported a first-quarter core profit above with market expectations on Wednesday, as continued U.S. strength offset the negative impact from exchanging dollars to euros.

The group, which operates the Stop & Shop, Giant, Food Lion and Hannaford chains in the U.S. and the Albert Heijn and Delhaize chains in the Netherlands and Belgium, said its underlying operating income rose 0.7% to 896 million euros ($1.05 billion), beating the 858 million euros expected by analysts polled by it.

($1 = 0.8524 euros)