OREANDA-NEWS. December 30, 2010. X5 Retail Group N.V., Russia's largest food retailer in terms of sales (LSE ticker: “FIVE”), announced today its preliminary outlook for 2011. Outlook for 2011 includes sales contribution from approx. 700 acquired Kopeyka stores plus organic top-line growth from new store openings and increased LFL sales.

Outlook 2011:

Gross sales to exceed RUR 500 billion (inclusive of VAT) representing top-line growth of approx. 40%. We expect this increase to be driven by organic RUR net sales growth in the low 20 percent range on a higher base compared to 2010, with the remainder contributed by the Kopeyka acquisition.

 New store openings:

• Discounters: 500

• Supermarkets: 20-25

• Hypermarkets: 5-10

• Pyaterochka Maxi: ~10

 CapEx – up to RUR 40 bln.

• New stores: ~55%

• Integration, maintenance, reconstruction, & IT: ~30%

• Logistics & other: ~15%

X5 Retail Group CEO Lev Khasis commented:

“Execution of X5’s 2010 growth plans has been strong and disciplined. We will end the year with a record number of new store openings while staying below our CapEx limit. We are on track to deliver on X5’s 2010 outlook for top-line-growth in the low 20-percent range, supported by a recovery in consumer spending and trading-up trends in the fourth quarter. “We believe this is the right time to further accelerate growth. X5 recently completed the acquisition of Kopeyka, adding to opportunities for our industry-leading discounter format and complementing our core organic growth strategy. Today we are proud to announce the Company’s 2011 outlook, with plans to significantly increase the pace of organic expansion with some 540 new store openings. This together with the Kopeyka acquisition should enable X5 to deliver in excess of RUR 500 billion in gross sales, representing top-line growth of approximately 40%.”

Please note that in future X5 will issue its preliminary annual outlook in January of the new year in conjunction with the Company's fourth quarter trading announcement.