Press-release | Krasnodar | April 6, 2021.
Magnit Plans to Open Official Office in Uzbekistan
Krasnodar, Russia (April 6, 2021): Magnit PJSC (MOEX and LSE: MGNT; the Company, Magnit), one of Russia's leading retailers, plans to open an official office in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The move was announced at the International Industrial Trade Fair "Innoprom. Big Industrial Week in Uzbekistan", held on April 5-7 in Tashkent, in which the Company also participated. By opening such an office, Magnit will be able to ramp up its exports as well as drive development of imports from countries of Central Asia and the Middle East. The Company is currently working over the format and conditions for opening the office.
At the trade fair, the Company presented its export potential along with goods produced at its own facilities and arranged for a number of negotiation sessions with potential partners in the top-priority areas of export-import operations.
Magnit is the only Russian retailer having its own foods production facilities. The Company owns 17 plants in various regions of the country, which manufacture around 500 food articles. In 2020, these facilities put out 310,000 tons of products in total.
These facilities are not focused on only satisfying domestic demand and covering the Company's own needs in high-quality private label products-Magnit is actively developing its export as well. For example, in 2020, the Company shipped around 500 tons of in-house produced pasta, confections, dry foods, snacks, tea, and coffee to Republic of Armenia, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Belarus, and other countries.
In addition to this, Magnit works to build long-term partnerships with external suppliers and is looking for, among other things, opportunities to directly import exclusive goods and raw materials for development of its unique private label ranges.
In 2021, the Company plans to increase the shipment volumes and be more active in developing its imports. In this regard, Magnit considers the Republic of Uzbekistan as a key partner for direct import of food products, primarily fruits, and light industry goods. These product categories are in great demand in Russia and will allow the Company to create a unique offering for the customers.
"Our current production capacities, namely in Krasnodar region, allow us to significantly increase our export volumes. These facilities comply with the international standards of production safety and quality, and we want to utilize their potential in full. The opening of our office in Uzbekistan will ensure proper cooperation with foreign partners and enable us to develop our export and import operations, which we are very interested in. We do not rule out that in the future this office may become a hub for our operations with countries of Central Asia and the Middle East," - commented Ekaterina Lobanova, Director for Commercial Purchases and Category Management Support at Magnit.
For further information, please contact:
Dmitry Kovalenko
Director for Investor Relations
Email: dmitry_kovalenko@magnit.ru
Office: +7 (861) 210-48-80
Dina Chistyak
Director for Investor Relations
Email: dina_chistyak@magnit.ru
Office: +7 (861) 210-9810 x 15101
Media Inquiries Twitter
Email: press@magnit.ru @MagnitIR
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 December 31, 2020, Magnit operated 38 distribution centres and 21,564 stores (14,911 convenience, 470 supermarkets and 6,183 drogerie stores) in 3,752 cities and towns throughout 7 federal regions of the Russian Federation.
In accordance with the audited IFRS 16 results for FY 2020, Magnit had revenues of RUB 1,553.8 billion and an EBITDA of RUB 178.2 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/or 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.
