Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter

Rusneftegaz can publish results for the fourth quarter of the year as of and for the three and twelve months ended 31 December. These statements were prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, otherwise known as IFRS, and have not been audited. The full results are disclosed in the financial section of the Group's website.
 
The results that can be announced for this period represent a marked recovery in quarterly results, with a pre-tax profit of $61,7 million from total revenues equating to $192,4 million. A notable change from the same time twelve months ago, with turnover having almost doubled from the $99,2 million reported for the same period last year, representing an increase of 93,9%. This particular revenue total is also a new record financial performance for the Group, with the profit disclosed being the highest three-month figure since the beginning of 2020, and thus also before the pandemic began. When our organization disclosed at this time one year ago a nominal profit of $0,3 million for the three months ended December 2021, managers and directs had no realistic method for forecasting when this pandemic would ultimately end. However, the emergence of the latest variant-of-concern identified by the World Health Organization has so far been milder than previous mutations, meaning that the majority of national governments and industries did not impose restrictions on travel and business comparably to how these were prescribed earlier in the crisis. Consequently, whilst commodity prices and demand were volatile throughout the quarter, there was no catastrophic collapse in either, with the former gaining early in the period before weakening as unease emerged. Nevertheless, there was a brisk recovery in market prices once it was established that the latest version of coronavirus would not falter the ongoing economic recovery. This is despite Rusneftegaz being forced to close all of our offices in Russia for two weeks between late October and early November following local and national ordinances, leading to all our administrative staff working from home until the number of instances of viral cases reduced. Regardless, improving treatments and greater global vaccine coverage means that Rusneftegaz no longer believes that our published economic data will be affected by the aforementioned pandemic as a going concern.
 
One of the most significant factors that drove such an improvement in financial performance on a quarter-by-quarter basis was the annual increase in electricity production that occurs annually in the last months of every year. In this period, Rusneftegaz generated 3,60 TWh of energy, a rise of 14,3% from the 3,15 TWh previously announced in 2020 and by 92,5% from the 1,87 TWh declared in the third period of this year. This also yielded an 22,2% uplift in profits earned from the previous three months, when $50,5 million was gained from turnover totaling $179,9 million, underlying a 6,9% improvement. Although a surge in power production was the primary cause of the upturn in our results, oil extraction remains a key core element in our business model. Therefore, Rusneftegaz can also disclose that total production for this period equated to 1,38 million barrels, an average of 15.043 barrels per day, with a peak daily extraction of 15.496 barrels. This represents a quarterly decline in production of 3,5% from the previously announced figure of 1,43 million barrels, and no change from the totals published from the same timeframe in 2020. These particular falls are not considered cause for concern by management, who remain wholly pleased with our quarterly financial data. In spite of this satisfaction, the board of directors did not elect to circulate a revised investment program during this quarter as initially proposed, with management wishing to continue to monitor the current health situation before making formal spending commitments. The changes were later promulgated in a briefing a few days ago. One event that did occur, on the other hand, was our annual awards ceremony at the end of November. The prize giving is an ample opportunity for us to display our gratitude to our staff for their hard work and achievements over the past twelve months, with special commendations being earned by twenty members of our team. Two of our personnel, Oleg Patrushev and Eduard Kopeykin, were named employee and young employee of the year respectively, and we hope that their outstanding endeavors will continue with us long into the future.
 
Whilst management have remained broadly optimistic about the prospects for our company in spite of the pandemic and the corresponding economic fallout, the global geopolitical situation has changed substantially following the end of the year. In the twelve months prior to the first quarter of 2022, the ruble was stable and there was little volatility in the value of the currency. However, following the escalation of the situation in the Donbass and the Black Sea regions since February, the board of directors has found it difficult to forecast our financial results for this year. It is not yet known if measures currently being implemented, including those that are currently being proposed, by other countries will affect Rusneftegaz’s business or ability to trade internationally in the months or years ahead. It is vital to note, anyhow, that the majority of our sales are made in the Russian Federation, and our business is more dependent on local demand than global commerce. Whilst we remain vigilant to the possibility of hindrances to our growth occurring in the short term, management does not believe that this will necessarily undermine our operations. Our current expansion plans are not solely focused on development in the European Union and the Americas, and we retain interest in projects in emerging markets. Regardless of what occurs, we will remain adaptable in order to thrive, as we have done so through the entirety of our corporate history.

The financial details in this article are current at the date of this report, and believed by Rusneftegaz to be accurate and true. All information is disclosed as a summary and does not purport to be complete. The data that this commentary is dependent on is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but the Group, nor any of the directors, officers, employees, agents, subsidiaries or affiliates, can wholly guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information.