MOSCOW (AP) – Russian state-controlled gas monopoly OAO Gazprom said its net profit for the first nine months of 2006 rose 90 percent, boosted by the integration of oil unit Gazprom Neft as well as high international oil and gas prices.
The world’s biggest gas producer reported a net profit of 442.3 billion rubles ($16.78 billion) for the nine months ended Sept. 30 under International Financial Reporting Standards, up from 232.13 billion rubles in the same period a year earlier.
The results beat an average forecast of 438 billion rubles ($16.62 billion) in an analyst poll conducted by Dow Jones Newswires.
“A significant factor impacting the comparability … was the acquisition in October 2005 of OAO Sibneft,” the company said in a statement. “Higher oil and gas market prices also significantly impacted results.”
Gazprom purchased a 72.66 percent stake in the Sibneft oil company in late 2005 for a total of ($13.01 billion) and later renamed it Gazprom Neft.
Revenues rose 75 percent to 1.581 trillion rubles ($60 billion) compared to 902 billion rubles the year before.
