Gazprom announces sharp rise in profitsAugust 10, 2015 - 18:31 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian energy giant Gazprom has announced a sharp rise in profits thanks in large part to a weak ruble, BC News reports. Net profit for the first three months of the year was 382bn rubles ($5.9bn), up 71% on a year earlier. Total sales rose 6% to 1.65tn rubles. Gazprom sells its gas in dollars, so a weak currency means the price of gas in rubles rises. The weak ruble helped to offset a fall in the volume of sales of almost 10%, to 132bn cubic meters of gas. With the price of oil - which is a key determinant of the price of gas - back below $50 a barrel, many analysts believe Gazprom results for the rest of 2015 will be weaker than the first quarter. Related links: Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Erdogan wants “realistic road map” for relations with Armenia Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for a “new realistic road map” for relations with Armenia. Armenia-Azerbaijan: Experts launch work on determining coordinates Expert groups from the countries started the process of determining the coordinates based on geodetic measurements. Yerevan says did not expect CSTO in peacekeeping role Pashinyan has declared that the CSTO would be expected to come to the Armenia-Azerbaijan border as an ally of Armenia Henrikh Mkhitaryan wins Serie A title with Inter Inter Milan midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan admits that the team have long been imagining clinching Serie A against AC Milan. |