Russia's Magnit reported a 28.4 percent rise in first-quarter net profit as it became the country's largest food retailer by sales.
Net profit rose to $202.4 million in the January through March period from $157.7 million in the same period of 2012, it said in a statement.
Magnit, based in the southern city of Krasnodar, earlier reported first-quarter sales of 131.2 billion roubles ($4.14 billion), leapfrogging rival X5, which has been dogged by operational issues.
Magnit's first-quarter earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 25.2 percent to $401.6 million, giving a 9.31 percent margin versus 9.65 percent a year ago.
Magnit has been opening low-price convenience stores in small regional cities, targeting low-income consumers, and has grown into Russia's largest food store chain by store count.
Its shares slipped 0.87 percent in Moscow by 0903 GMT, having risen by around 30 percent so far this year.
