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| - Russian energy giant Gazprom on Wednesday announced a 17 percent drop in net profit last year compared to 2018, over lower prices and falling sales to Europe. Releasing its annual results, the state-controlled group said it generated net profits of 1.2 trillion rubles ($16.3 billion) in 2019. In 2018 -- a record year for sales to Europe -- the company earned 1.456 billion rubles. Operating profits also fell by 42 percent to 1.12 trillion rubles, the company said, and total sales were down seven percent year-on-year to 7.66 trillion rubles. Sales to Europe and Turkey, which account for most of the company's profits, fell by four percent in volume to 232.4 billion cubic meters. In total, gas sales over 2019 fell 2.7 percent in volume to 506.9 billion cubic meters, while the price of gas fell by 12 percent in rubles and 15 percent in dollars. The group said it plans to invest 1.6 trillion rubles in 2020, a 25 percent decrease from this year. Gazprom's market share in Europe has increased in recent years to around one third, despite tension with the European Union which says it wants to reduce dependence on Russian gas. "Gazprom's share of the European market in 2019 exceeded 35 percent, and there is every chance of maintaining this figure," Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday. Gazprom deputy chairman Vitaly Markov told news agency TASS that the company is expecting lower results this year due to "lower volumes of gas" being sold. apo-jbr/mm/rl
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