Lenta reports strong sales growth in second quarter
Russian supermarket giant Lenta has reported that total sales grew by 30.4% in its second quarter to 60.4 billion roubles.
Like-for-like sales growth was 8.6% compared to the same period in the previous year.
The company opened four hypermarkets and three supermarkets in the period to take Lenta’s total number of stores to 143 at 30 June.
Looking ahead, Lenta chief executive, Jan Dunning, said: “Despite the challenging environment we expect to achieve significantly better profitability in the first half of 2015 compared to the same period of the previous year, with adjusted EBITDA growth of around 45% and EBITDA margin improving by over 70 basis points.
“We have achieved this profitability improvement thanks to effective cost management and supply chain improvements, while absorbing part of the effect of inflation on our customers.”
