Moody's upgrades X5 Retail's rating to Ba2 with positive outlook

MOSCOW, Mar 31 (PRIME) -- International rating agency Moody’s has upgraded the corporate rating of Russian food retailer X5 Retail Group to Ba2 from Ba3, and confirmed a positive outlook, the agency said on Friday.

"Our decision to upgrade X5's ratings reflects its strong sales growth, solid and sustained profitability and improved leverage, despite ongoing unfavorable economic and market conditions in Russia," Yekaterina Lipatova, an analyst at Moody's, said.

The agency also said that the upgrade of X5's ratings to Ba2 with positive outlook reflects the company's enhanced market positioning as the largest Russian food retailer as of the end of 2016. The company remains resilient to adverse economic and market developments consistently demonstrating the industry-leading operating performance and steady improvement in its financial profile.

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