Magnit Tallies Up New Year Sales

Krasnodar, Russia (January 12, 2021): Magnit PJSC (MOEX and LSE: MGNT; the Company), one of the leading Russian retailers, has summarized its sales in the period preceding the New Year. From December 17 to 31, 2020, the Company's revenue grew by 11.9%[1] year-over-year, with LFL sales growing by 8.9%. Like-for-like traffic decreased by 7.8% while LFL average ticket grew by 18.2% due to a higher average number of items per basket and trading up effect.

"We are pleased with the results of the New Year sales. In the last days of December, Magnit showed record sales in its history, and these indicators were noticeably higher compared to 2019. Not only the CVP which was significantly improved over the year and a good preparation for the high season made their impact, but also the coronavirus restrictions, as a result of which many customers spent their New Year holidays at home. Magnit's online sales channel also coped well with the workload during the New Year period, even though all the projects are still being piloted," - commented Jan Dunning, Magnit President and CEO.

The highest impact in the pre-New Year period traditionally came from December 30 and 31. These days accounted for some 22% of Magnit's sales made over the last two weeks of the year. Over 20% of sales volume of the entire pre-New Year week in such categories as sparkling wines, gifting cosmetic kits, juices, beverages, vodka, cognac, and cakes fell on the last day of 2020.

The average "New Year ticket" for Magnit's customers during the reporting period amounted to RUB 469. In the course of preparation of Russians for the New Year celebration, the citrus fruits, sparkling wines, perfumery, New Year confectionery gifts, as well as New Year tree decoration categories demonstrated the best sales dynamics with from 30 to 50% LFL growth. Duck meat was a real bestseller among Magnit customers with 6 times higher LFL-sales.

During the pre-New Year period, the Company sold over 15 million bottles of champagne and wine, with Russian brands accounting for 81% of those sales. During the last two weeks of the year, Magnit customers bought around 23.5 thousand tons of mandarins (+1.8 thousand tons vs. 2019), over 14 million boxes of chocolate sweets, 6.3 million cakes and pastries, 2.5 million cans of caviar, as well as 17 million packs of tea and coffee. Magnit's customers as usual stocked up on mayonnaise - the essential sauce of the New Year menu - with the total reaching 17.1 million packs sold. As in the previous year, the Company's private labels were highly demanded, e.g.: the Magnit Freshness range saw 470 tons of button mushrooms, 818 tons of cucumbers and 1,606 tons of tomatoes sold in the last two weeks of 2020. 

Over the last two weeks of 2020, Magnit completed more than 70,000 online orders through its own and partner delivery services. The biggest order which amounted to RUB 64 thousand was the purchase made in Moscow via the e-pharma service. The biggest food delivery order amounted to RUB 15.9 thousand and was made via the Company's own regular delivery service in Krasnodar. The average pre-New Year ticket in the online channel was RUB 1,600.

In the first ten days of the new year, the Company's revenue increased by 9.5% year-over-year with LFL sales growing by 6.3%. Like-for-like traffic decreased by 10.1% but was overly compensated by 18.3% LFL average ticket increase. The Company associates these trading results primarily with the improved CVP available in Magnit stores as well as with the increased demand for food products among customers against the backdrop of the COVID-19 restrictions.

For further information, please contact:

Dmitry Kovalenko

Director for Investor Relations

Email: [email protected]

Office: +7 (861) 210-48-80

Dina Chistyak

Director for Investor Relations

Email: [email protected]

Office: +7 (861) 210-9810 x 15101

Media Inquiries

Media Relations Department

Email: [email protected] 

Note to editors:

Public Joint Stock Company "Magnit" is one of Russia's leading retailers. Founded in 1994, the company is headquartered in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar. As of September 30, 2020, Magnit operated 38 distribution centres and 21,154 stores (14,699 convenience, 469 supermarkets and 5,986 drogerie stores) in 3,819 cities and towns throughout 7 federal regions of the Russian Federation.

In accordance with the unaudited IFRS 16 management accounts results for 1H 2020, Magnit had revenues of RUB 763.4 billion and an EBITDA of RUB 86.9 billion. Magnit's local shares are traded on the Moscow Exchange (MOEX: MGNT) and its GDRs on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: MGNT) and it has a credit rating from Standard & Poor's of BB.

Forward-looking statements:

This document contains or may contain forward-looking statements that may or may not prove accurate. For example, statements regarding expected sales growth rate and store openings are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from what is expressed or implied by the statements. Any forward-looking statement is based on information available to Magnit as of the date of the statement. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to Magnit are qualified by this caution. Magnit does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in circumstances.

[1] Operational figures are based on management accounts. Increase in LFL sales and average ticket calculated based on revenue with VAT.