OAO Gazprom Neft (SIBN.RS), the oil arm of Russian gas monopoly OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS), Tuesday said its second-quarter net profit grew 85% in 2008, as it produced more oil and sold it at higher prices.
Net profit for the first three months of the year, under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, rose to $2.20 billion from $1.19 million in the same period of 2007.
Revenue rose 92% to $9.81 billion from $5.10 billion, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, grew 71% to $3.09 billion from $1.81 billion.
Gazprom Neft said the improvement was due to an increased market price for oil and refined products as well as higher sales volumes. Gazprom Neft, Russia's fifth-largest oil producer, plans to boost output and grow its reserves considerably in the coming years in order to become one of the world's largest oil companies.
Gazprom Chairman Alexei Miller has pledged to make Gazprom Neft the country's leading oil producer and to turn the company into a "large international player."