LUKOIL net reached $6.8 billion in nine months of 2010, free cash flow amounted to $7 billion

EBITDA increased by 17.1% in the nine months of 2010 and amounted to $11,985 million. Revenues from sales were $76,272 million.
Capital expenditures including non-cash transactions in the nine months of 2010 remained flat y-o-y and amounted to $4.7 billion. Strong financial discipline enabled the Company to generate record high free cash flow, which reached $6,964 million in the nine months of 2010, compared to $1,442 million in the nine months of 2009. Despite the share buy-back in the third quarter of 2010, which amounted to $4.42 billion, the Company managed to achieve good financial results.
The Company’s tax expenses, including excise and export tariffs, totalled $22.3 billion in the nine months of 2010, including an income tax expense of $1.7 billion.
Lifting costs per boe of production in the nine months of 2010 were $4.04, which is a 19.2% increase y-o-y. The growth was mainly due to the real rouble appreciation, which reached 14%.
LUKOIL Group total hydrocarbon production available for sale reached 2,249 th. boe per day in the nine months of 2010, which is a 1.6% increase y-o-y.
Crude oil production of LUKOIL Group in the nine months of 2010 totalled 72.27 mln tons. Natural and petroleum gas output available for sale increased by 26.1% , to 13.79 bcm.
Production at own and affiliated refineries of LUKOIL Group (including the share in oil and petroleum product throughputs at the ISAB and TRN complexes) increased by 7.6% y-o-y in the nine months of 2010 and reached 47.79 mln tons. Production at the Company’s refineries in Russia increased by 1.3% y-o-y; production at the international refineries grew by 23.9% y-o-y.
Measures aimed at higher efficiency and cost control allow the Company to generate higher free cash flow and increase net income.