Gazprom net profits surge 21 percent in 2016

Russian energy giant Gazprom said Thursday net profit increased 21 percent last year, with a rise in sales driven mostly by crude oil and gas condensate.

The company said total sales had increased by 37.7 billion rubles ($662 million, 607 million euros), up one percent from the 2015 figure to 6.1 trillion rubles.

Net profit came in at 951.6 billion rubles.

“The increase in sales was mainly driven by an increase in sales of crude oil and gas condensate,” Gazprom said.

Net sales of gas were down 4 percent on 2015, the company said, as a weak ruble hit the value of exports to key markets of Europe and Turkey despite the overall volume of gas sold to the continent rising by 24 percent.

Gazprom is the dominant gas supplier in a number of central and eastern European countries.

Last year it supplied nearly a third of Europe’s gas needs, a record amount despite tensions with the European Union and a desire by the bloc to reduce its dependence on Russian supplies.