OREANDA-NEWS. August 24, 2010. This morning, Russian retail chain Magnit disclosed its financial performance in 1H2010. Net ruble revenue advanced 31.8% y-o-y to RUB 103.66 bn, with growth largely attributable to new store openings. In 6M2010 , the company opened 264 stores altogether , including 4 hypermarkets.

 As of June 30, 2010, the company ran a network of 3,492 retail outlets, compared to 2,808 a year earlier. The total retail space expanded 27.7% y-o-y to 1.16 mn sq m. Revenue growth was additionally fed by the positive dynamics of LFL sales, which picked up 4.9% y-o-y.

The company pursued an active price-cutting policy in the reporting period, which made a dent in its profit margins. Thus, the gross margin contracted from 23.3% in 1H2009 to 21.5% in 1H2010. The sharp rise in general and administrative expenses, put at 31.2% y-o-y, led to a modest result on net income, estimated at RUB 3.95 bn for the period, up 1.2% y-o-y. Net margin shrank from 5.0% to 3.8%.