RUSSIA : Surgutneftegaz’s Profit Down to 77 Bln Rubles in 2006

Net profit of Russia’s largest oil company Surgutneftegaz dropped 33 percent, to 77 billion rubles in 2006, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Proceeds on sales of goods, products and services went up 17 percent, to 500.5 billion rubles in 2006, compared to 2005, which is largely due to the auspicious situation on the world oil market. The cost of sold goods grew 29 percent, to 342.3 billion rubles.

Meanwhile, business expenses were higher a significant 18 percent last year. The rise is mainly due to a hike in oil export duties, which rose 14 percent in 2006, Surgutneftegaz said in a statement, summing up the company’s annual report.

The statement notes that Russia increased oil export duties by 55 percent last year while the mining tax rose 24 percent. As a result, the oil producer paid 94 billion rubles more in taxes.

Financial results of the fourth quarter have affected the overall performance the greatest as declining oil prices cut on sale proceeds by 30 billion rubles in October-December 2006.