(Reuters) -- Gazprom's Q311 earnings fell to RUB156bn (USD5.14bn), a 3% fall from Q310. This is the first 2011 quarter that saw a year-on-year contraction in net profit. Despite a 22% growth in gas sales, the company's returns were hit by RUB148bn (USD4.89bn) worth of financial expense, a 228% increase on Q310, mostly caused by foreign exchange (FX) losses on debt issued for the company's capital-intensive investments. The company had increased its net debt by 20% to RUB1.04trn (USD34.37bn). Despite these underwhelming results, the company beat expectations with a net profit attributable to shareholders of RUB152bn (USD5.02bn) against a RUB150bn (USD4.94bn).
The company's revenues were however boosted by its refining business, which thanks to secure feedstock at a time when European refiners were struggling to compensate for the interruption in Libyan light crude supplies, grew by 43% y-o-y. Gazprom also benefited from successful diversification into the power sector, which bolstered its bottom line.
MRC