1 Sep 2015 12:00
Lenta to acquire three new stores and three land plots from O'KEY Group
Store opening guidance upgraded to at least 28 new hypermarket openings in 2015
Saint-Petersburg, Russia; 1 September 2015 - Lenta, (LSE, MOEX: LNTA) one of the largest retail chains in Russia, is pleased to announce it has signed a purchase agreement with O'KEY Group to acquire three new stores and three land plots.
The three stores purchased will become Lenta Standard format hypermarkets. Two of the stores are located in Chelyabinsk and one in Volgograd. Construction and fitting out of the Volgograd store has been completed. Construction of one of the stores in Chelyabinsk has been completed and it is ready to be fitted out as a Lenta store. The second store in Chelyabinsk is in the final stages of construction. It is expected that all three stores will open in 2015.
The additional land plots are located in Chelyabinsk, Omsk and Taganrog. Lenta expects to construct new hypermarkets on each of these plots within the 2016-17 timeframe.
Lenta currently has one hypermarket in Chelyabinsk, two in Volgograd, four in Omsk and one in Taganrog.
The transaction will be funded from existing cash resources, so will not require any additional financing.
Lenta's Chief Executive Officer, Jan Dunning said:
"The deal will strengthen Lenta's position in Chelyabinsk, Volgograd, Omsk and Taganrog - all cities where we are already present. It also enhances our already strong new store pipeline, enabling an increase in our guidance to at least 28 new hypermarkets in 2015. In addition to supporting top line growth, the new stores will also help us realize additional supply chain efficiencies by increasing utilization of our DC in Rostov and a new DC under construction in Ekaterinburg which is scheduled to open later this year.
Lenta continues to deliver industry-leading growth in sales and selling space despite a challenging consumer and macro environment. Our financial position is strong and we are confident in our hypermarket opening programme for 2015 and in our ability to accelerate further in 2016."
Revised New Hypermarket Opening Guidance
Lenta increases its store opening guidance for 2015 to at least 28 hypermarkets. Lenta expects to further increase hypermarket openings in 2016 to exceed the 31 hypermarkets opened in 2014 and to maintain a similar or higher pace of expansion thereafter.
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For further information, please visit www.lentainvestor.com, or contact:
Lenta
Anna Meleshina, Director of Public Relations and Government Affairs
+7 812 363 28 53
Anna.Meleshina@lenta.com
Albert Avetikov, Director of Investor Relations
+7 812 363 28 44
Albert.Avetikov@lenta.com
Instinctif Partners
International Media Mark Walter +44 20 7457 2020 Mark.Walter@instinctif.com
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Russian Media Leonid Fink +44 20 7457 2020 Leonid.Fink@instinctif.com |
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 120 hypermarkets in 631 cities across Russia and 27 supermarkets in Moscow and the Moscow region, with a total of 777,182 sq.m. of selling space. The average Lenta hypermarket store has selling space of approximately 6,200 sq.m. The Company operates five 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 30,6552 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, all of whom 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'.
Forward looking statements:
This announcement includes statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not only relate to historical or current events. Forward-looking statements often use words such as "anticipate", "target", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "expected", "plan", "goal", "believe", or other words of similar meaning.
By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances, a number of which are beyond Lenta's control. As a result, actual future results may differ materially from the plans, goals and expectations set out in these forward-looking statements.
Any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of Lenta speak only as at the date of this announcement. Save as required by any applicable laws or regulations, Lenta undertakes no obligation publicly to release the results of any revisions to any forward-looking statements in this document that may occur due to any change in its expectations or to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this document.
[1] Lenta has changed methodology for calculating number of cities of presence and since 1 May 2015 all cities located in Moscow City and the Moscow region are shown as Moscow
[2] FTE (full-time equivalent). Average FTE for 1H 2015 was 30,267 employees.