MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/. The Gazprom Board of Directors has suggested that shareholders at the annual meeting, which will be held in absentia on June 30, should not approve dividends for 2022, the company said on Tuesday.

The Board of Directors recommended the shareholders' meeting not to approve or pay dividends based on the results of Gazprom's activities in 2022, taking into account the payment of interim dividends based on the results of the company's activities in the first half of 2022.

According to the report, net profit of Gazprom, attributable to the shareholders of the company, under IFRS decreased by 41.4% and amounted to about 1.226 trillion rubles ($15.29 bln) at the end of 2022 against 2.093 trillion rubles ($26.1 bln) a year earlier.

Gazprom's external sales increased to 11.673 trillion rubles ($145.61 bln) against 10.2 trillion rubles ($127.24 bln) a year earlier. Gazprom Group EBITDA for 2022 amounted to 3.6 trillion rubles ($44.9 bln), which is comparable to the record result of 2021, the statement said. The net debt of Gazprom, adjusted for deposits, at the end of 2022 amounted to 3.8 trillion rubles ($47.4 bln). The level of debt burden in terms of net debt/EBITDA amounted to 1.1 in ruble terms at the end of 2022 against 0.23 at the end of the first half of 2022.