Gazprom of Russia is predicting a significant increase in profit for 2015, despite pressure low oil prices had on the financial results.
According to the company’s deputy chairman Andrey Kruglov , that Gazprom’s net profit in 2015 “will be determined by the net profit trend, which due to the foreign currency debt dominance in our credit portfolio will largely depend on the still volatile dollar rate at the year-end.”
Kruglov added that, according to the company’s estimates, the net profit margin will more than triple, exceeding 10 percent in 2015 against 2014.
Gazprom’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margin are epected to be above 30 percent in 2015, which is slightly lower compared to 35 percent in 2014, reaching US$30 billion.
“The expected decline in profitability is primarily caused by a deterioration in the oil and gas market and an increase in the tax burden,” Kruglov said.
It is expected that Gazprom will pay around RUB1.3 trillion (approx. $19.9 billion) in taxes for the year 2015.