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RNS Number : 5780K
Lenta Ltd
31 December 2015
Lenta exceeds its 2015 hypermarket opening guidance
Lenta opened 32 hypermarkets during 2015, increasing selling
space by 27%
St-Petersburg, Russia; 31 December, 2015 - Lenta, (LSE, MOEX:
LNTA) one of the largest retail chains in Russia, announces that
the Company has exceeded its hypermarket opening guidance for 2015,
a year during which Lenta also increased its financial flexibility,
enabling the company to further accelerate its growth plans for
2016 and beyond.
During the course of 2015, Lenta is proud to have accomplished
the following milestones in the company's development:
-- Opened 32 hypermarkets - more than in any single year in the
Company's history, bringing the total number of Lenta hypermarkets
to 140;
-- Entered 11 new cities, bringing the total number of cities of presence to 69;
-- Strengthened its position in all key Russian regions (Moscow,
Saint-Petersburg, North-West, Center, Volga, South, Urals and
Siberia), the largest represented by Siberia with 20% of total
selling space as of December 31, 2015;
-- Opened the farthest store in Lenta's network in Irkutsk,
located approx. 5,700 km from Lenta's headquarters in
Saint-Petersburg;
-- Opened 13 out of 32 new hypermarkets in seven cities(1) with
more than 1 million inhabitants, including Lenta's first three
stores in Chelyabinsk;
-- Commenced expansion of supermarket format in St. Petersburg
with the first four stores opened in December; continued expansion
in Moscow with three new stores opened in 2015, giving a total of
32 supermarkets;
-- Added more than 188,100 sq. m of selling space in 2015 to
reach around 889,300 sq. m as of December 31, 2015 (+27% growth vs
December 31, 2014);
-- Maintained its strategy of ownership of the vast majority of
its selling space, with 84% of hypermarket selling space owned and
the remaining 16% leased as of December 31, 2015;
-- Exceeded 2015 hypermarket opening target, despite increasing
guidance twice since the beginning of the year;
-- As a result of its rapid expansion, Lenta expects to become
Russia's leading hypermarket chain in terms of selling space as of
December 31, 2015.
Lenta's Chief Executive Officer, Jan Dunning said:
"2015 has been a truly memorable year. Not only was the year
made noteworthy by the continued success of our accelerated store
opening process, but also by Lenta's operational performance.
We are delighted that our shareholders continue to share our
optimism and desire to capture the plentiful growth opportunities
in the Russian food retail market. Despite the difficult economic
environment we have delivered - and even more - our promises and
opened over 30 hypermarkets in 2015 and we will be accelerating our
growth next year. Thanks to the strong results of 2015 and the
support given to us by our shareholders we plan to open at least 40
new hypermarkets next year and maintain similar or higher pace of
growth in the years beyond 2016".
(1) According to Lenta's methodology for calculating number of
cities of presence, since 1 May 2015 all cities located in Moscow
City and the Moscow region are shown as Moscow, and all cities
located in the Leningrad region and St. Petersburg are shown as St.
Petersburg.
About Lenta
Lenta is one of the largest retail chains in Russia and the
country's second largest hypermarket chain (in terms of 2014
sales). The Company was founded in 1993 in St. Petersburg. Lenta
operates 140 hypermarkets in 69 cities across Russia and 32
supermarkets in Moscow and St. Petersburg, with a total of
approximately 889,260 sq.m of selling space. The average Lenta
hypermarket store has selling space of approximately 6,100 sq.m.
The Company operates six owned hypermarket distribution
centres.
The Company's price-led hypermarket formats are differentiated
in terms of their promotion and pricing strategies as well as their
local product assortment. The Company employed approximately 30,655
people as of 30 June 2015.
The Company's management team combines a mix of local knowledge
and international expertise coupled with extensive operational
experience in Russia. Lenta's largest shareholders include TPG
Capital and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development,
both of which are committed to maintaining high standards of
corporate governance. Lenta is listed on the London Stock Exchange
and on the Moscow Exchange and trades under the ticker: 'LNTA'.
A brief video summary on Lenta's business and its Big Data
initiative can be seen here.
(2) FTE (full-time equivalent). Average FTE for 1H2015 was
29,776 employees.
For further information please visit www.lentainvestor.com, or
contact:
Lenta Instinctif Partners
Anna Meleshina, International Media:
Public Relations & Mark Walter and Saule Jandossova
Government Affairs el:+44 (0)20 7457 2020
Director E-mail: Lenta@instinctif.com
Tel: +7 812 363 28
53 Primum
E-mail: anna.meleshina@lenta.com Russian Media:
Alexandra Semenova and Marina
Anastasia Kuznetsova, Shvyrkova
Corporate Communications el:+7 903 591 1519
Manager E-mail: Lenta@primum.ru
el:+7 (812) 336 39
97
E-mail: a.kuznetsova@lenta.com
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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December 31, 2015 06:00 ET (11:00 GMT)
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