Rosneft beats 2013 net profit forecast after TNK-BP deal

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Rosneft , the Russian state oil major, on Wednesday posted a forecast-beating 51 percent rise in earnings last year after its $55 billion acquisition of Anglo-Russian oil venture TNK-BP. Rosneft, the world's top listed oil producer by output and reserves, said its full-year net income rose to 551 billion roubles ($15.6 billion). Analysts polled by Reuters had expected earnings of 511 billion roubles. The company produced 4.196 million barrels per day of oil and liquids last year. That accounted for 40 percent of all oil output in Russia, the world's largest producer. "2013 was a transformational year in the company's history," said Rosneft President Igor Sechin, a longtime ally of President Vladimir Putin. "Despite a challenging macroeconomic situation the company delivered record results in upstream and downstream due to increased efficiency, skilful use of advanced technologies and business expansion in accordance with our strategic priorities." As of 1240 GMT, Rosneft's Moscow-traded shares rose 0.66 percent, outperforming a 0.7 percent decline in the broader market <.MCX>. The company's free cash flow stood at 201 billion roubles in 2013, excluding prepayments for long-term delivery contracts. Revenues increased 52 percent to 4.69 trillion roubles. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 53 percent to 947 billion roubles, compared to a Reuters poll of 948 billion roubles. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova and Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Douglas Busvine)