YUKOS: DROWNING OIL GIANT'S CAPITAL SHRINKS

MOSCOW, August 16 (RIA Novosti) - The first half-year brought Yukos market capitalization 3.4% down after last year's rise of an impressive 40.8%, the problem-ridden petroleum giant says in its accounts. The company proceeded from exchange statistics of the Russian Trading System for the end of 2002, the entire 2003 and last June's end.

Its market capital for the end of 2002 was evaluated at $19.71 billion, $27.75 billion by last year's end, and $26.82 billion late in the initial half-year 2004.

The half-year brought the Yukos a sizeable net loss, as against net profit of the year before, say calculations on Russian accounting standards. The company evaluates the loss at 77.595 billion rubles ($1=29 rubles), and the net profit for January-June 2003, 39.589 billion rubles.

The loss for the current period before taxation was 7.005 billion rubles, and the profit for the first half-year 2003, also before taxation, 39.865 billion rubles. The sale profit was 889.489 million rubles, as against 481.874 million of the year before.

Yukos returns for last January-June made 3.350 billion rubles, as against 4.711 billion of the first half-year 2003.