MOSCOW: Russian energy giant Gazprom announced Monday that net profit fell 25-fold in the first half of 2020 due to the economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and low oil and gas prices.

The state-controlled group posted a net profit of 32.9 billion rubles ($447 million) in the six months to June, compared to 836.5 billion rubles in the same period last year.

Turnover fell almost a third to 2.9 trillion rubles.

After a net loss of 116.2 billion rubles in the first quarter, Gazprom recovered slightly in the three months to June, posting a net profit of 149.2 billion rubles.

Year-on-year sales to Europe dropped 16 percent by volume in the first half of 2020, while revenues fell by almost half.

Gazprom announced a 17 percent drop in net profit last year compared to 2018, over lower prices and falling sales to Europe.