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Russian group Magnit has this week announced that net profit increased by 1.17 per cent to R3.95bn (€101.4m) through the first six months of the year, a rise to US$131.2m from US$117.9m year-on-year in dollar terms.

According to the retailer, revenues in roubles climbed by 31.8 per cent to R103.7bn, boosted by an increase in selling space in the country and higher like-for-like sales, Reuters reported.

Earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 2.1 per cent to R7.6bn, the group said.

'Positive like-for-like traffic and average ticket trends instil optimism and confidence in the targeted sales growth of 35 per cent, in rouble terms, at the end of the year,' noted CEO Sergey Galitsky. 'At these expectations, EBITDA margin forecasts for 2010 lies within the range of 0.8-8.5 per cent.'