MOSCOW -- Russian energy giant Rosneft (IW 1000/22) on Wednesday announced its third-quarter profits crashed as it operates under Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis and the ruble plunges.
Net profit fell by 99.3% to 18.3 million euros ($23.4 million).
The fall in profits year-on-year from 143 billion rubles to one billion (18.3 million euros) came after Rosneft asked the Russian government for massive financial support to help it survive US and EU sanctions imposed this summer.
The United States in July added Rosneft, which is almost 70% state-controlled, to its list of companies that face sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, drastically limiting its access to US markets. The European Union adopted sanctions against Rosneft and other major companies in September.
The company said in its report that it "considers these sanctions in its activities, continuously monitors them and analyses the effect of the sanctions on the Company's financial position and results of operations."
Rosneft accounts for more than 40% of Russia's oil production. Britain's BP owns around 19% of the Russian oil major.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2014
