Russia's Magnit raises forecast for new store openings

MOSCOW, July 23 (Reuters) - Russia's biggest food retailer Magnit is stepping up its store opening plans as it looks to build on its low-price appeal to cash-strapped consumers.

Magnit's discount stores have proved relatively resilient in the current economic downturn as Russians, faced with a weak rouble and high inflation due to lower oil prices and Western sanctions, have increasingly favoured low-price stores.

It plans to open at least 1,350 convenience stores in 2015, the most ever for the company in a single year, Chief Executive Sergey Galitskiy said on Thursday, raising his forecast from six months ago of 1,200.

Magnit, which already has more than 10,700 stores, also lifted its forecast for cosmetics shop openings to at least 950 from 800, while keeping its guidance for new hypermarkets -- its least profitable store format -- at 90.

"The crisis for those who are aggressive means new opportunities," Galitskiy told analysts.

However, he was more cautious about the company's sales growth this year, forecasting a 26-28 percent increase compared with his earlier guidance for 28-32 percent growth.

"Unfortunately the number of new openings does not have such a big impact on our growth anymore, and it gets smaller day by day," he told analysts at an investor day.

"We see how the market reacted in April, in May and in June to this whole situation ... People started to save on food."

Inflation peaked in Russia in March, hitting 16.9 percent, and is still running at over 15 percent, although it has since slowed. Food inflation was down 0.4 percent in June, month-on-month, according to the state statistics agency.

Magnit also raised its guidance for its 2015 core profit margin to 10-11.2 percent, after it reached 11.95 percent in the second quarter. (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Alexander Winning and Mark Potter)