MOSCOW, October 3. /TASS/. Gazprom has claimed the top spot in Forbes' ranking of Russia's most unprofitable companies for 2023. The list has been published on the magazine's website.
The Russian gas giant posted a net loss of 583.1 bln rubles last year, the company’s first loss in 25 years, as the publication noted. Furthermore, Gazprom stocks fell by 6% to 154 rubles in just one week after its financial results for 2023 were released.
The company’s loss was "accounting-based," largely driven by the depreciation of non-financial assets worth 1.15 trillion rubles and exchange rate losses totaling 652 bln rubles, according to the report. However, Gazprom’s net cash flow from operating activities rose by 5% to 2.3 trillion rubles last year, while in the first half of 2024 the company earned 1.1 trillion rubles worth of net profit.
The Amur Gas Chemical Complex (AGCC) was second on the list with its net loss from last year standing at 71.9 bln rubles. The complex, which is being built in Russia’s Amur Region, is the joint venture of Sibur and China’s Sinopec. As of early September 2024, the project was 55% completed. Once finished, the Amur Gas Chemical Complex will be one of the world’s largest producers of polyethylene and polypropylene. Forbes attributed the loss to accounting factors, including asset depreciation and foreign exchange losses related to the revaluation of assets and liabilities in foreign currencies.
Rounding out the top three was Ozon, with a net loss of 42.7 bln rubles in 2023. Despite this, the company's loss decreased by 27% due to a rise in gross profit and the lack of nonrecurring expenses, the magazine wrote. Apart from investment in warehouse infrastructure and customer acquisition costs, high labor inflation also contributed to the company’s losses. In particular, Ozon’s loss may rise again by the end of 2024 as due to the Central Bank’s key rate hike the company’s interest expenditures more than doubled in the first half of the year alone to 21.7 bln rubles.