X5 Retail Group has not been able to avoid the global economic crisis this year as it reported a first quarter net loss of US$82.1m, down from a profit of US$86.3m in the same period of 2008.
Year-on-year net sales increased 28 per cent in rubles but fell 8 per cent in US dollar terms, with earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation falling 8 per cent to US$162.7m.
'X5's solid operational performance in the first quarter benefited from our discounters' leading price position, which drove strong sales growth in customer traffic and like-for-like sales,' said group CEO Lev Khasis. 'X5 puts the customer first, and this is especially important in tougher economic conditions.'
Chief financial officer Evgeny Kornilov said that the grocer's efforts to ensure product affordability for consumers, along with the post-integration price repositioning strategy at Karusel, had resulted in a gross margin decline of 100 per cent compared with last year.
'For the rest of the year, we will make every effort to drive efficiency and profitable growth, with a focus on cash generation and deleveraging,' he added.
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