MOSCOW, May 3 (RIA Novosti) - Rosneft said Wednesday its net profit in the first quarter of 2006 had risen seven times on the fourth quarter of 2005 to 23.3 billion rubles ($855.3 mln).
The Russian state-run oil giant said the increase was due to "increased earnings from oil exports [due to the growth of average market oil prices]," as well as to the falling dollar.
In 4Q05, Rosneft's net profit was 3.3 billion rubles ($121.1 million).
Rosneft's earnings in 2005 more than quadrupled to $24 billion against $5.3 billion in 2004. The company's net profit in 2005 grew likewise to $4 billion against $0.8 billion year on year.
