X5 Retail Group, Russia’s second-largest retailer, said that fourth-quarter sales rose 21 per cent as customers turned to the Pyaterochka discount division amid accelerating inflation stemming from the rouble’s drop and import limits.
Revenue jumped to 181 billion roubles ($2.75 billion) from 150 billion roubles a year earlier, the Moscow-based company said in a statement. The Pyaterochka chain’s sales surged 34 per cent in December.
Russia’s consumer-price inflation reached a five-year high in December as falling oil prices compounded the effects of trade disputes with the US and the European Union over President Vladimir Putin’s incursion in Ukraine, which have sent the rouble plummeting. The country’s food-sellers have managed to pass the price increases on to customers.
PJSC Magnit, the company controlled by billionaire Sergey Galitskiy and Russia’s largest retailer, increased December sales 37 per cent. X5 Retail, which is controlled by billionaire Mikhail Fridman and his partners, has been trying to improve operations to catch up with the industry leader.
X5's stock has dropped 39 per cent in the past 12 months, valuing the company at about $3 billion. That compares with more than $20 billion for Magnit.
Bloomberg News, edited by ESM
