Russian low-cost retailer Magnit plans record store openings

* Plans to open over 2,000 stores after 1,600 in 2014

* Sees sales rising 26-32 pct after 31.7 pct in 2014

* Core profit margin seen flat to slightly down (Writes through with 2015 outlook, adds analyst comments)

By Maria Kiselyova

MOSCOW, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Russia's top food retailer, low-cost Magnit, plans to open as many stores in 2015 as never before in one year, confident it can win crisis-hit customers without giving up much profitability despite a looming recession.

Ratings agency S&P cut the country's sovereign credit rating to junk level after a dive in oil prices and Western sanctions over Ukraine deepened an economic crisis.

Grocery chains are usually resilient in downturns but analysts expect consumers to cut spending on food because of high inflation and declining disposable incomes.

"You don't have to be a brilliant economist to understand that when wage growth lags inflation, people pay more attention to the price," Sergey Galitskiy, Magnit founding CEO and a 42-percent shareholder, told a conference call on Tuesday.

He said Magnit would further improve purchasing terms despite rising producer prices, which should protect its margins when it has to cut prices to lure back shoppers.

"2015 will be our most aggressive year in terms of openings," Galitskiy said, adding that capital expenditure would be flat from last year at 65 billion roubles ($960 million) as Magnit plans to lease more premises rather than buy.

"Even (Taiwan OTC: 6436.TWO - news) if we have to open less profitable stores... we will be doing that," he said, pledging to open more than 2,000 stores in 2015 after adding 1,618 last year.

Based in the southern city of Krasnodar, Magnit has been expanding across Russia's regions at the fastest pace among peers and has leapfrogged X5 as the No.1 grocer by sales in 2013. Its scale and cost control allowed it to achieve one of the highest profitability levels in the sector and made it a top pick among foreign investors.

Magnit trades at an above-average price to earnings ratio of 18.2 for 2015, compared to the mean ratio of 12.3 for other Russian food retailers, according to Renaissance Capital which has a "Buy" rating on the stock.

"Magnit's balance sheet is strong, which should allow it to add more selling space than in the previous year, while its scale should help it price competitively and take market share," analysts at the investment bank said.

Magnit plans to grow sales 26-32 percent in roubles in 2015 and achieve a margin on the basis of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of 9.5-11.0 percent.

It increased sales 32 percent in rouble terms last year, with a 33 percent rise in net profit and an 11.2 percent EBITDA margin.

But a slide in the rouble has skewed its dollar results with fourth-quarter net income falling 22 percent to $284 million on forex losses during conversion into dollars and associated with direct imports.

($1 = 67.7 roubles) (Additional reporting by Olga Sichkar; Editing by Mark Heinrich)