Russia's Rosneft first quarter profits leap 30%

Russia's oil giant Rosneft said Friday its net profit rose by 30.2 percent in the first quarter from the same period last year to 56 billion rubles ($1 billion).

The results were adjusted however as the company revised its 2014 first-quarter income down from 88 to 43 billion rubles to exclude the exceptional profit from its sale of a stake in Yugragazpererabotka, a gas processing joint venture with Sibur.

Sales were down 6.3 percent to 1,288 billion ($23.9 billion) and operating profit as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation decreased by 8.3 percent to 265 billion rubles.

Rosneft said that the first quarter was characterised by the "drastically adverse influence of macroeconomic factors" including a dramatic drop in the price of oil that was not sufficiently compensated by the weaker ruble.

Rosneft also lamented the "increase in tariffs" by the government for pipeline and railway transport, as well as the increase of the key interest rate by the central bank.

Production of hydrocarbons was up 2.1 percent from the first quarter of 2014 and amounted to 5.2 million barrels per day, the company said. It was unchanged

Rosneft chairman Igor Sechin said that the company has "demonstrated stability" despite "unfavourable factors for the industry."

"The company continues to efficiently manage operating costs and generate positive free cash flow," he added in the statement, reporting that operating costs went down by 3.1 percent since the previous quarter.

Rosneft has been hit with Western sanctions over Ukraine and is blacklisted by both the United States and the European Union.

Rosneft is majority-owned by the Russian government, which holds about 70 percent, with another 20 percent held by British giant BP.