Russian retailer Magnit has reported full-year sales up by more than a third, after opening nearly 1,600 stores during the period.

For the 12 months to the end of December, Magnit reported preliminary consolidated net sales up by 34% versus 2011, to RUB448.5bn (US$14.8bn). Sales rose by 35% in the fourth-quarter, to RUB129bn.

The group opened 1,575 new stores during 2012, taking its total network to 6,884 outlets. Most of the new openings were convenience stores, the mainstay of Magnit's business, but it also opened 13 hypermarkets, taking its total number of hypermarkets to 126.

On a like-for-like basis, Magnit's sales for the year increased by 5.3%. In the final three months of the year, the increase was 8.5%, buoyed by an 8% rise in convenience store sales and an 11.4% increase in hypermarket sales.