Page 142 - RusRPTJun21

9.2 Major corporate news 9.2.1 Oil & gas corporate news
● Gazprom
Gazprom reported its 1Q21 IFRS results on May 28. Revenue, EBITDA and net income were all up y/y, coming in ahead of expectations.
Non-FSU gas sales increased 25% y/y to 64.5bcm and the average non-FSU export price rose 20% y/y (+12% q/q) to $193.9/mcm. We estimated non-FSU sales at 61.9bcm. FSU sales were up 28% y/y to 11.9bcm, but the average price slipped 9% y/y to $133/mcm. Domestic sales rose 19% y/y to 91.7bcm (our estimate was 81.3bcm), and the average price was up 3.7% y/y. Higher prices and volumes pushed up total gas sales 49% y/y to RUB 1.4 trillion. Total revenue increased 31% y/y to RUBy.2.3 trillion, outpacing our estimate by 5% and generally in line with consensus.
Total costs increased 13% y/y, while goods for resale, transportation services and insurance were the only lines to be down y/y. Purchases were up 19% y/y, external transit costs rose 6% y/y, staff costs increased 5% y/y and taxes other than income added 12% y/y. Gazprom reported a RUB27bn FX loss on operating items. EBITDA was up 42% y/y to RUB697.9bn, which is ahead of our and consensus estimates. Despite the increase in costs, the EBITDA margin was up 2ppts y/y.
Gazprom’s net income came in 13-14% ahead of expectations. This was in part due to the EBITDA beat, but it was also likely due to the 56% y/y increase in income from associates and the RUB16bn FX gain. The company booked net income of RUB447.3bn vs. a net loss of RUB116.2bn in 1Q20. Net income adjusted for dividend purposes was RUB391bn, ahead of market expectations and our forecast, and would imply a 1Q21 dividend of RUB8.21/share (the company only pays annual dividends).
Gazprom’s net debt came down from RUB3.9 trillion at YE20 to RUB 3.7 trillion in 1Q21, implying a ND/EBITDA of 2.1x vs. 2.6x at YE20, the company reported. We note that Gazprom’s short-term debt decreased, while its long-term debt was up slightly. Non-adjusted FCF came in strong at RUB228.2bn vs. RUB170.6bn in 1Q20. Adjusting for short-term deposits, FCF was RUB467.8bn.
Gazprom increased its capex guidance for 2021 to RUB 1.832 trillion vs. the figure of RUB1.788 trillion given a month earlier.
Gazprom held its 1Q21 conference call on Friday 28 May. The key highlights are summarised below.
· RUB8.26 is the contribution of the 1Q21 results to the FY21 DPS.
142 RUSSIA Country Report June 2021 www.intellinews.com