Business Development in 2010

GAZPROM Germania GmbH recorded a net comprehensive income of EUR 514.8 million for the 2010 financial year (2009: EUR 594.3 million). The 2010 EBIT of EUR 410.8 million dropped to about 60 percent of the previous year’s figure (EUR 674.6 million). This decline can be attributed to a EUR 147.8 million fall in income from investments. The decrease in operating profit by EUR 82.8 million is due mainly to a decline in gross margins from gas trading.

As a result of an increase in current assets and liabilities, the balance sheet total grew by EUR 1,311.3 million to EUR 6,466.4 million without significant changes to the balance sheet structure.

This financial year, GPG paid a dividend of EUR 50 million to its parent company Gazprom export LLC (2009: EUR 356 million, including a one-off dividend of EUR 306 million from the sale of NOVATEK shares). In December 2010 the shareholders passed a resolution on a further dividend payment of USD 473.3 million and this deposit was paid off on 1 April 2011.

In 2010, the GAZPROM Germania group’s activities again focused on the marketing of natural gas of Russian and Central Asian origin in Europe and the former Soviet Union and trading in Europe’s liberalized markets.

In close cooperation with Gazprom export LLC, the GAZPROM Germania group trades natural gas in two sectors: The first sector comprises Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union countries (handled by GAZPROM Germania GmbH and ZMB (Schweiz) AG, and the second focuses on the United Kingdom, France, the United States, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Turkey (handled by Gazprom Marketing & Trading Ltd, Vemex s. r. o., Wintershall Erdgas Handelhaus GmbH & Co. KG (WIEH), PremiumGas S. p. A., and Bosphorus Gaz Corporation A. S.).

Alongside their existing activities in gas, electricity, and emission certificates trading on liberalized European markets, GM&T and its subsidiaries are expanding trade in gas, LNG, biomass, and emission certificates in North America and Asia, in particular in the USA and Singapore.

The gross sales figure (before netting against trading costs) increased by 36.8 % from EUR 8,086.2 million to EUR 11,063.0 million. While there was a fall in gross sales of electricity and CO2 certificates, gross sales of gas and LNG increased significantly. The volume of gas sold increased by 41.3 %, from 69,827 Mm³ in 2009 to 98,683 Mm³, while sales of LNG increased by 33.1 % from 1,887 Mm³ in the previous year to 2,512 Mm³ in 2010.