Russia's OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS), the world's largest producer of natural gas, Thursday posted an eightfold increase in fourth-quarter net profit on rising output and demand, as well as a one-time financial gain.
Russia
's OAO
Gazprom (GAZP.RS), the world's largest producer of natural gas, Thursday posted
an eightfold increase in fourth-quarter net profit on rising output and demand,
as well as a one-time financial gain.
The better-than-expected result sent Gazprom's shares higher. At 1318 GMT,
Gazprom's ADRs were trading up 3.4% at $23.94 in
London
.
State-controlled Gazprom saw production fall 13% last year, as demand plummeted
amid an economic downturn and competition increased from alternative energy
sources in
Europe
.
But cold weather and signs of a pickup in demand in
Europe
--the
company's key export market--boosted net profit for the October to December
period to 308.7 billion rubles ($10.5 billion), as calculated by Dow Jones
Newswires from annual figures. That compares with RUB37.52 billion during the
same period a year earlier and above the RUB214.61 billion average of 11
analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires.
The quarterly net profit figure was, however, inflated by a non-cash deal with
Germany's E.ON Ruhrgas AG in October last year, while 2008's fourth-quarter
numbers were dragged down by a big foreign exchange loss.
"The main message is a clear start of a fundamental recovery trend, which
is due to accelerate in the first quarter of 2010," said analyst Lev
Snykov.
Gazprom's shares almost doubled last year amid a strong recovery in Russian
equities, but traced its peers in the beginning of 2009.
Despite lower demand for most of 2009, Gazprom posted a record full-year net
profit at RUB779.59 billion, boosted by a paper gain on a revaluation of its
oil unit OAO Gazprom Neft (SIBN.RS). Profit for the year was also the highest
in the world, beating
U.S.
oil
major Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), which posted net income at $19.3 billion for the
year.
Revenue in the last three months of 2009 slipped to RUB580.5 billion from
RUB946.0 billion a year earlier, as gas sales last year to
Europe
and
countries from the former
Soviet Union
fell.
Analysts had expected fourth-quarter sales of RUB937.4 billion. The lower
revenue was due to a difference in accounting practice, which excludes trading
of gas from the posted sales figure.
Operating profit totaled RUB856.9 billion in 2009, down from RUB1.260 trillion
a year earlier.
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