Russ Oil-Gas

31 July, 2008 - Upstream OnLine - Russian gas giant Gazprom booked a 78% rise in net profit, calculated under Russian Accounting Standards (RAS), in the second quarter of 2008. The world's largest gas producer said in a statement net profit rose to 131.24 billion roubles ($5.60 billion) in the second quarter from 73.72 billion roubles in the year-ago period. The company also said earnings rose to 285.7 billion roubles in the first half of 2008, a 106% increase from 138.67 billion roubles in the first six months of 2007. Analysts tend to focus on Gazprom's financial reports under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), but view the RAS report as important guidance. The company also pays annual dividends based on RAS results. Gazprom has said its IFRS net profit rose more than 9% to 695 billion roubles in 2007. It has yet to publish IFRS quarterly results.