Russia's Sanctions-Busting Magnit Sees Profits Soar

Russia's largest food retailer Magnit has posted a 40% increase in third-quarter earnings, as it weathered a food-import ban and maintained low-price levels.

The low-cost retailer is prominent in Russia's rural provinces and it has 9,000 stores across the country, the majority of which are small neighbourhood stores.

"The third quarter was a challenging time for the business units of the company responsible for logistics and purchasing," said Magnit Chief Sergei Galitsky in a statement.

"We managed to adapt to the changing conditions, in as short a time as possible, which resulted in a strong performance in the third quarter," he said.

The company managed to fill gaps on shelves after the Kremlin banned fresh food imports from Western countries that had imposed sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.

Magnit said its net profit had amounted to $395m (£245.5, €311.7m) in the third quarter, beating analyst forecasts of $366m (£227.4m, €288.9m).