MOSCOW, August 15. /TASS/. Net profit of X5 Group, which operates the Pyaterochka, Perekrestok and Chizhik retail chains, under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) rose by 20.4% in Q2 2024 year-on-year to 35.242 bln rubles, or $390 mln, Russia’s food retailer reported.

EBITDA gained 18.3% in the reporting period in annual terms to 72.159 bln rubles, while revenue grew by 25.1% to 965.491 bln rubles. EBITDA margin totaled 7.5% compared to 7.9% in April-June 2023.

1H 2024 net profit of X5 rose by 43.4% year-on-year to 59.39 bln rubles. EBITDA increased by 26.8% to 127.595 bln rubles, while revenue added 26.1% to 1.852 trillion rubles. EBITDA margin equaled 6.9%, same as in the previous year.

Total debt of X5 amounted to 215.763 bln rubles as of June 30, having decreased by 6.2% compared with the end of 2023. Net debt was down by 11% to 169.855 bln rubles. Net debt/EBITDA ratio stood at 0.7x compared to 0.89x as of end-2023.

"During the first half of 2024, we pushed forward with our strategic focus on strengthening our retail offering by actively expanding X5’s proximity store and hard discounter networks, as well as making our supermarket experience stand out even more vis а vis our competitors. As a result, X5 demonstrated strong revenue growth of 25.1% in Q2 2024, driven by an increase in like-for-like sales and selling space expansion," X5 Chief Executive Officer Igor Shekhterman was quoted as saying.

"In parallel, we leveraged technology to make our business even more efficient and resilient in the face of market headwinds, including ongoing labor shortages. This spring, we began to install two million electronic price tags across our Perekrestok supermarket chain, marking the largest rollout of this technology in the industry. This move has brought a new digital element to the customer journey while boosting operational efficiency and freeing up hours of employee time to focus on customer-centric tasks," he said.

X5 Group is a leading Russian retailer in terms of revenue. As of 30 June 2024, X5 Group operated 25,466 stores. Its store base includes 21,997 Pyaterochka proximity stores, 987 Perekrestok supermarkets and 1,785 Chizhik hard discounters, as well as 612 Krasny Yar and Slata stores. The company operates 63 DCs and 5,992 company-owned trucks across Russia.