Rosneft says 2012 net profit up 7pc, below forecast

MOSCOW: Rosneft, Russia's No. 1 oil producer, said on Friday its 2012 net income rose 7 percent to 342 billion roubles ($11.4 billion) thanks to a rise in production and oil prices, missing analyst forecasts.

Analysts polled by Reuters expected full-year net income at 347 billion roubles.

The company's free cash flow was down 54.5 percent to 45 billion roubles last year.

Rosneft, now in the process of acquiring Russia's third-largest oil company TNK-BP for $55 billion, switched to IFRS from US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) late in 2011.

Revenues increased 13 percent to 3.1 trillion roubles, the company said in a statement, in line with expectations.

Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declined 8 percent to 609 billion roubles, compared to a Reuters poll of 596 billion roubles.