Russia's Gazprom Neft Q2 net profit falls 43%
STORY: Energy giants enjoyed bumper revenues last year as oil and gas prices soared.
But that run hasn't continued for one Russian major.
Gazprom Neft said Thursday (August 24) that second-quarter net profit plummeted 43% year-on-year to $1.5 billion.
The company is the oil arm of gas giant Gazprom.
It said its April to June total revenues fell to $8.7 billion, down slightly from last year.
But the firm's shares edged up in early trade in Moscow.
And Moscow's Interfax news agency said the company's six-month profit exceeded analyst expectations.
Russia's energy sector has been under pressure from Western sanctions imposed after the Kremlin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine last year.
The measures include price caps and an embargo on purchases of Russia's sea-borne oil.
But the country's oil production and exports have been helped by a big rise in sales to China and India.
Both countries are seen as politically close to Moscow.
