OREANDA-NEWS. April 13, 2010.  Magnit has released its 1Q10 trading update, showing net retail sales up 28%. The company femonstarted positive LfL performance, which at +2.6% is its highest result in the past three quarters, reported the press-centre of OTKRITIE FC.

View: After a 4% decline in LFL sales in 4Q09, a 2.6% increase in 1Q10 is a positive sign, even though the figure is below the 7% increase posted by X5 for the same period. Net sales increased 28% on the back of new store openings. Meanwhile, the hypermarket segment performed at an even higher level, showing 69% YoY growth in sales.

Valuation and Action: The stock trades on a 2010 EV/EBITDA of 12.7x, which implies a 7% premium to EM peers. Overall, we regard the news as positive.