* Sees 2010 H2 sales returning to pre-crisis levels
* Bulgaria, Romania remain weak; Russia, Ukraine recovered
* Will review China strategy in 2012 to decide on expansion
(Adds detail, quotes)
By Kelvin Soh
TIANJIN, China, Sept 14 (Reuters) - German group Metro, the world's No. 4 retailer, expects revenue to return to pre-crisis levels in the second half, as consumer confidence returns in its key markets.
Within Europe, Bulgaria and Romania remained weak while Russia and Ukraine have recovered, chief executive Eckhard Cordes told Reuters in an interview during the World Economic Forum.
"The overall situation has improved a lot since 2009," Cordes said. "All in all, it is still hard to predict, but we have a chance of returning to pre-crisis levels in the second half of this year."
In the second half of 2008, before the financial crisis hit the company's revenues, Metro recorded sales of 36.5 billion euros. This year, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S expect sales to hit 36.4 billion euros ($46.85 billion).
The company was also in line to realise 500 million euros in cost savings this year from its "Shape 2012" programme to cut costs and boost productivity, Cordes said.
The programme had contributed more than 100 million euros to second-quarter earnings, the company had said in August, although weaker-than-expected sales had weighed on earnings and hit its share price then.
CHINESE PLANS
Metro, which runs the Cash & Carry and Saturn brands, will open its first Media Markt-branded electronics store in Shanghai in November this year, Cordes said, ahead of the peak Lunar New Year shopping season in January.
Its Chinese venture, 25 percent owned by Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn, plans to open about 10 stores in Shanghai before deciding whether to expand further in 2012.
"We could potentially open several hundred stores all over China," Cordes said. "But that's a decision for 2012 and we want to see how we are doing in Shanghai first, although we are confident we will do well."
Foxconn, which counts Hon Hai as a unit and is a key supplier to companies such as Apple, is purely an equity partner in the China venture and will not directly supply to Media Markt stores in the country, Cordes said.
"They have seats on the board, and they supply to the brands we may buy from, but no, they will not be supplying directly to Media Markt," he said. "It's a purely equity investment."
The Taiwanese company has a 25 percent interest in the Chinese business, and has been aggressively looking to expand into areas outside of its traditional manufacturing business to fuel further growth.
China's electronics retailing scene is fiercely competitive. Suning, the country's largest electronics chain by market value, has said it plans to add 520 new stores in 2010 while rival GOME , with more than 700 stores in the country, has announced plans to push into rural areas. (Editing by Don Durfee; Editing by Hans Peters) ($1=.7770 Euro)