Gazprom profit rises after gas shipments to Europe increase

Bloomberg

Gazprom PJSC’s profit jumped to the highest in three years as natural gas sales to Europe surged. Unexpectedly cold weather from Germany to the UK boosted Russia’s gas sales into the region by 8 percent in the first three months of the year. That along with stronger prices helped lift income for the nation’s gas-pipeline monopoly.
The results may raise pressure on Gazp-rom’s man- agement to increase its dividend payout, something the company has resisted as it’s boosting investment in projects that will expand its reach deeper into Europe and Asia. Gazp-rom is sponsoring the Nord Stream 2 link that will funnel gas into Germany underneath the Baltic Sea, bypassing political hot spots along the main existing transport route through Ukraine.
“Gazprom may show really exceptional results this year, backed by exports to Europe, yet that wouldn’t necessarily mean an extra gain to its shareholders,” said Andrey Polischuk, an analyst at Raiffeisen Centrobank in Moscow. “Given its investment plan and a need to repay debts and cover interest payments, there won’t be enough cash to provide a long-awaited dividend increase, which people have been discussing from the year dot.”