LNTR.L Regulatory News (LNTR)

Lenta exceeds its 2015 hypermarket opening guidance

Lenta opened 32 hypermarkets during 2015, increasing selling space by 27%

St-Petersburg, Russia; 31 December, 2015 - Lenta, (LSE, MOEX: LNTA) one of the largest retail chains in Russia, announces that the Company has exceeded its hypermarket opening guidance for 2015, a year during which Lenta also increased its financial flexibility, enabling the company to further accelerate its growth plans for 2016 and beyond.

During the course of 2015, Lenta is proud to have accomplished the following milestones in the company's development:

· Opened 32 hypermarkets - more than in any single year in the Company's history, bringing the total number of Lenta hypermarkets to 140;

· Entered 11 new cities, bringing the total number of cities of presence to 69;

· Strengthened its position in all key Russian regions (Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, North-West, Center, Volga, South, Urals and Siberia), the largest represented by Siberia with 20% of total selling space as of December 31, 2015;

· Opened the farthest store in Lenta's network in Irkutsk, located approx. 5,700 km from Lenta's headquarters in Saint-Petersburg;

· Opened 13 out of 32 new hypermarkets in seven cities1 with more than 1 million inhabitants, including Lenta's first three stores in Chelyabinsk;

· Commenced expansion of supermarket format in St. Petersburg with the first four stores opened in December; continued expansion in Moscow with three new stores opened in 2015, giving a total of 32 supermarkets;

· Added more than 188,100 sq. m of selling space in 2015 to reach around 889,300 sq. m as of December 31, 2015 (+27% growth vs December 31, 2014);

· Maintained its strategy of ownership of the vast majority of its selling space, with 84% of hypermarket selling space owned and the remaining 16% leased as of December 31, 2015;

· Exceeded 2015 hypermarket opening target, despite increasing guidance twice since the beginning of the year;

· As a result of its rapid expansion, Lenta expects to become Russia's leading hypermarket chain in terms of selling space as of December 31, 2015.

Lenta's Chief Executive Officer, Jan Dunning said:

"2015 has been a truly memorable year. Not only was the year made noteworthy by the continued success of our accelerated store opening process, but also by Lenta's operational performance.

We are delighted that our shareholders continue to share our optimism and desire to capture the plentiful growth opportunities in the Russian food retail market. Despite the difficult economic environment we have delivered - and even more - our promises and opened over 30 hypermarkets in 2015 and we will be accelerating our growth next year. Thanks to the strong results of 2015 and the support given to us by our shareholders we plan to open at least 40 new hypermarkets next year and maintain similar or higher pace of growth in the years beyond 2016". 

1) According to Lenta's methodology for calculating number of cities of presence, since 1 May 2015 all cities located in Moscow City and the Moscow region are shown as Moscow, and all cities located in the Leningrad region and St. Petersburg are shown as St. Petersburg.

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 140 hypermarkets in 69 cities across Russia and 32 supermarkets in Moscow and St. Petersburg, with a total of approximately 889,260 sq.m of selling space. The average Lenta hypermarket store has selling space of approximately 6,100 sq.m. The Company operates six 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 30,655 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, both of which 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'.

A brief video summary on Lenta's business and its Big Data initiative can be seen here.

2) FTE (full-time equivalent). Average FTE for 1H2015 was 29,776 employees.

For further information please visit www.lentainvestor.com, or contact: