NIS Q1 Net Profit Up 18 %

Posted by Joseph R. Fonseca April 22, 2014

Serbian oil company NIS , majority owned by Gazprom Neft, reported an 18 percent rise in net profit in the first quarter of 2014 on higher sales and improved production efficiency.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to 15.5 billion dinars from 8.3 billion in the same period last year, NIS said in a statement on Tuesday. Net profit reached 8.6 billion dinars compared with 7.3 billion in the first quarter of 2013.

NIS is Serbia's second largest exporter and a major contributor to the Balkan country's budget.

NIS produces around 1.6 million tonnes of oil equivalent (mtoe) from fields inSerbia and is engaged in oil exploration in neighbouring Bosnia, Hungary andRomania. (Reporting by Ivana Sekularac. Editing by Jane Merriman)