JSC "The Seventh Continent" (further referred to as the Company) 2009 trade sales in ruble terms increased 12% YoY. The Company's December 2009 trade sales in ruble terms increased 17% YoY and reached 5 664 mn. rubles. The growth in regional sales in ruble terms for December 2009 reached 13% YoY. Based on management accounts the Company's 2009 gross retail sales reached 49 077 mn. rubles or USD 1 556 mn.. The average ticket of the Company for the year 2009 has grown to 0.6% compared to the year 2008. The number of customers increased 11% YoY. 2009 Like-For-Like sales (LFL) in ruble terms increased 4.2%. As of the end of December 2009 the selling space of the Company's stores under the brands "The Seventh Continent" (supermarkets), "Nash Hypermarket" ("Our Hypermarket") and "Prostore" accounts for 184.0 th. sq. m. and increased 7% compared with the same period of 2008. In December 2009 the Company opened 1 store in supermarket format: "The Seventh Coninent - Next door" in Moscow (the following address: Donbasskaya street, 1). From the beginning of the year 2009 the Company opened 5 new stores including 2 hypermarkets. Total selling space of the opened stores accounts for 18.6 th. sq. m.. As of the end of December 2009 the Company managed 142 stores, including 132 supermarkets and 10 hypermarkets. During the year 2010 the Company intends to open 3 hypermarkets in the new Vologda and Kaluga regions and 11 supermarkets in Moscow and Moscow region. Hypermarkets will be opened in Vologda, Obninsk and Reutov. Due to the opening of new sites and further increase of operating efficiency the Company aims to increase cash flow and decrease its debt burden. As of 31 December 2009, in accordance with management accounts, the Company's consolidated debt accounts for 8.8 bln. rubles.
About the Company:
JSC "The Seventh Continent" was established in 1994 and today is an international retail chain and one of the leading Russian national chains. The Company operates in two major formats: supermarkets and hypermarkets. As of the end of December 2009 the Company has stores in Moscow and Moscow region (121 supermarkets and 4 hypermarkets), in Kaliningrad region (10 supermarkets), in Belgorod (1 hypermarket), in Ryazan (1 hypermarket), Chelyabinsk (1 hypermarket) in Minsk, Belorussia (1 hypermarket), in Perm (1 supermarket and 1 hypermarket) and in Yaroslavl (1 hypermarket). According to the audited financial statements, prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, in 2008 total revenues of the Company were 39 880 mn. rubles, net income 1 170 mn. rubles.
