Page 34 - bne IntelliNews Russia Country report May 2017

4.3.2 Corporate profits dynamics
Aggregate corporate profit in Russia in the first quarter of 2017 gained 4.9% year-on-year to RUB2.7 trillion (€420bn), the Rosstat state statistics agency said on May 30. The agency publishes monthly data on over 40,000 companies (excluding banks, insurance companies, small enterprises, and municipal companies).
Strong corporate profit is the latest indicator to confirm the solid opening of 2017 for Russian industry and services sectors, with industrial output, PMI, and business confidence posting stable increases in the first quarter.
In January-March, the corporate profit growth was driven mostly by a 69% y/y gain in extraction profits to RUB582bn, out of which hydrocarbon extraction soared 2.6-fold y/y to RUB320bn.
At the same time, manufacturing profit was down 14% y/y to RUB603bn,
but still showing a solid advance from RUB109bn seen in January. Retail and wholesale trade profit was RUB490bn in the first quarter (RUB268bn in January), down 13% y/y.
Aggregate corporate profit in Russia in 2016 gained 38% year-on-year to RUB11.6 trillion (€188bn). In December alone, corporate profit gained 57% month-on-month to RUB1.56 trillion, seasonally jumping in the last month of year.
The indicator continued stable growth after scaling back sharply in July
on seasonal factors such as tax and dividend payments. Throughout 2016, corporate profit proved to be a volatile indicator that is sensitive to currency fluctuations and seasonality. In 2015, corporate profit gained 53% year-on-year, which was largely attributable to ruble devaluation and the low comparison base, with profit growth slowing towards the end of the year.
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