Kalashnikov sales climb despite Western sanctions

"Overall, the year was rather successful for the group, which is especially important when you are working under sanctions," the group's new head Vladimir Dmitriyev said in an interview published in the Russian business daily Kommersant.

Sales at the maker of the famed AK-47 assault rifle rose by 86 percent from 2017 to hit around 40 billion rubles (535 million euros, $607 million at current exchange rates) and production rose by 20 percent.

The arms producer was one of the companies targeted in 2014 year by Western sanctions imposed over Moscow's role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

However, Dmitriyev acknowledged that exports were being crimped by the sanctions, in particular in landing new contracts.

"Counterparties are thinking 10 times before making a decision in our favour," he told Kommersant.

Kalashnikov, part of the state-controlled military-industrial group Rostec, has also branched out into clothing and accessory lines, and is even developing an electric vehicle.