The net profit of Ukraine's largest oil and gas company Naftogas of Ukraine amounted to $142.2m in the first quarter of 2007 compared to $245m in the same period a year earlier, the company's quarterly report states. Revenue went up 28 percent to $4.3bn due to an increase in the gas prices for Ukrainian consumers. Production cost edged up 5.1 percent to $2.7bn.
The company's management attributes a decrease in the net profit to the sale of almost 2bn cubic meters of cheap Ukrainian gas to the republic's industries, rather than consumers. Furthermore, the price of gas for consumers, which had been set by the government, was lower than the cost of imported gas.
