Suck it Putin3 May 2024 18:46
Gazprom slumps to first annual loss in 22 years as trade with Europe hit
The Kremlin-owned gas company Gazprom has plunged to its first annual loss in more than 20 years, after gas sales more than halved following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The company made a net loss of 629bn roubles (£5.5bn) in 2023 amid dwindling gas trade with Europe, once Gazprom’s main sales market, as a result of sanctions and the throttling of pipelines to the continent.
The results highlight the dramatic decline of the company, which since the collapse of the Soviet Union has been one of Russia’s most powerful, with its gas supplies often used as a leverage in disputes with neighbours such as Ukraine and Moldova.
Analysts had expected net income of 447bn roubles, according to the Interfax news agency. According to analysis by Reuters, it was Gazprom’s first annual loss since the late 1990s/early 2000s, when Alexei Miller, an ally of the then newly installed President Putin, took over the company in 2001.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/may/02/gazprom-first-annual-loss-in-20-years-trade-europe-gas-sales-russia-ukraine