Russia’s state energy giant Gazprom shakes off Ukraine sanctions and reports record results
Russia’s Gazprom has reported record results despite a spate of sanctions imposed by the West.
Big cash continued to flow in for the Kremlin-backed oil giant as it declared a profit of £36bn for the first half of 2022.
This has resulted in huge dividend payments for shareholders, including £8.6 billion for Vladimir Putin’s Russian government, which holds a majority stake.
Record results at Gazprom have sparked huge dividend payments to shareholders, including £8.6 billion for Vladimir Putin’s Russian government
Gazprom’s board of directors announced on Tuesday that it would pay an interim dividend of RUB 51.03 per share, with the total payout amounting to £17 billion. This is still subject to shareholder approval in a vote at the end of September.
Gazprom did not pay a full-year dividend in 2021.
Deputy CEO Famil Sadygov said Gazprom boasted record numbers “despite sanctions pressure and an unfavorable external environment.”
Britain and other Western countries have pursued tough sanctions against Russia since it launched its war in Ukraine in February.
As a result, Gazprom has significantly reduced its gas supplies to Europe, but continues to benefit from rising prices.
It has been widely criticized for its role in Europe’s mounting energy crisis. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow was using Gazprom “to make the coming winter as hard as possible for Europe”.
Germany, which is heavily dependent on Russia for gas, has accused it of using energy as a “weapon”.
Gazprom’s results show that its exports to countries outside the former Soviet Union fell 31 percent year-on-year.
Due to maintenance work, the company also stopped its gas deliveries to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline yesterday.
Government data recently showed that Britain did not import fuel from Russia for the first time in June.
