Russian energy giant Gazprom's first-quarter net income edged up around 1% compared with the same period last year to 660.4 billion roubles ($8.4 billion), with sales and the rouble exchange rate also up, the company said on Friday.
Gazprom said the strengthening of the rouble generated a gain thanks to a revaluation of its foreign currency debt.
The rouble has firmed more than 40% against the dollar this year, a rise analysts attribute to easing tensions mainly with the U.S. administration since President Donald Trump's return to the White House and to the Russian central bank's tight monetary policy, which has reduced demand for foreign currency.
The Gazprom profit beat analysts' consensus forecast, compiled by Interfax news agency, for net earnings of 487 billion roubles.
The company said the revenue of Gazprom Group increased to 2.81 trillion roubles in the January-March period, up from around 2.78 trillion roubles in the same period in 2024.
State-owned Gazprom's natural gas supplies to the lucrative European market have plummeted since Russia sent thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, while Nord Stream gas supply pipelines to Germany were blown up in September of that year.
Earlier this month, a court in Switzerland said that Nord Stream 2, part of Gazprom, reached a debt restructuring agreement with its creditors. Gazprom said in its report that the agreement has come into force as the ruling was not appealed.
Gazprom last month reported a net profit on its 2024 results following a loss of almost $7 billion in 2023, its first annual loss since 1999 amid collapsing gas exports to Europe.
Despite being profitable, Gazprom still faces challenges from plummeting gas sales in Europe as gas supplies to the region via Ukraine were halted on January 1 after a transit deal with Kyiv expired and was not extended.
(Reuters, May 30, 2025)
