Gazprom sees gas price rises boost profits

RUSSIAN gas monopoly Gazprom said net profit doubled in the first half of 2006 as prices for gas in Europe and Russia rose and the firm sold bigger volumes.

Net profits rose to 177 billion roubles (€5.1bn), while revenues increased by 39% to 827.9bn roubles.

The results on Wednesday were non-consolidated and prepared under Russian accounting standards (RAS), which differ significantly from international standards but are used to calculate the annual dividend.