MOSCOW, October 30 (RIA Novosti) - Russian energy giant Gazprom said on Friday its net profit under Russian Accounting Standards declined 56% year-on-year in January-September to 189.2 billion rubles ($6.5 bln).
In the first nine months of 2008, Gazprom posted an RAS net profit of 432.9 billion rubles ($14.9 bln at current exchange rates).
The company's net profit plunged by 85.2% to 20.15 billion rubles ($692 mln) in the third quarter of the year from 136 billion rubles ($4.7 bln) in the second quarter.
Gazprom explained the quarter-on-quarter decrease by currency fluctuations and customs payments for May-June 2009.
Last year, the energy giant, in which the government controls more than 50%, posted a 52% decrease year-on-year in RAS net profit to 173 billion rubles ($5.9 bln at current exchange rates).
The holding's net consolidated profit under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) increased 11% year-on-year to 771.38 billion rubles ($26.5 bln at current exchange rates) in 2008.
