Russian store backed by US private equity firm sees revenue slow

Lenta, a Russian supermarket/ department store operator backed by US private equity firm TPG Capital, has reported slower revenue growth after a government ban on food imports hurt September sales.

Third-quarter revenue increased 33% to 48.5bn rubles (€1bn), said St Petersburg-based Lenta. The gain was less than the second-quarter’s 39% jump because of the import restrictions, rising food-price inflation, and currency shifts.

President Vladimir Putin in August prohibited purchases of certain food products from the EU and US to retaliate for sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian conflict. The policy accelerated food-price inflation to a three-year high of 11.4% in September that, combined with lower oil prices, triggered the ruble’s sharpest quarterly weakening since 1999.