Kesko has concluded its acquisition of 12 Intersport stores in Russia and plans to acquire 24 more by the end of this year. As planned, the Finnish retail conglomerate has set up a new Russian company in which it holds an 80 percent stake. The balance is owned by the former Intersport licensee for Russia, Melovest. Kesko's goal is to at least double the size of the Russian Intersport network by the end of 2015, while expanding its food and DIY retail activities in the country. In the first six months of 2011, Kesko's pre-tax profit improved by 19.6 percent to €119.6 million on 8.0 percent higher total net sales of €4.57 billion, but its revenues from its Intersport stores in Finland declined by 1.8 percent to €75 million.

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