VIENNA, AUSTRIA – Austrian oil and gas group OMV said Friday it recorded a high third quarter profit due to soaring energy prices.
For the period from July to September, OMV recorded a net profit of US$3.28 billion (3.3 billion euros) compared to US$277 million (279 million euros) for the same quarter last year.
Revenue doubled year-on-year to US$17.1 billion (17.2 billion euros) thanks to “significantly higher market prices”, the company said in a press release.
OMV – which worked closely with Russian giant Gazprom until the invasion of Ukraine – said “the drop in production” linked to the war’s consequences “has been more than offset by the rise in oil and gas prices”.
In the third quarter, OMV reported an average oil price increase of 42 percent year-on-year, while the price of natural gas has also “significantly increased” to a “historically high level”.
Following European sanctions on Moscow, OMV froze its investments in Russia and has withdrawn from the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.
The Austrian flagship company said its strong performance prompted it to propose a special dividend of US$2.24 (2.25 euros) per share.
Greenpeace and other activists have called for a protest outside the company’s headquarters in Vienna, decrying the “immorally” high profits.
