Gazprom CEO voices 2002 net income

Gazprom controls some 20 percent of the world's gas reserves, Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller declared opening an annual shareholders' meeting today. According to him, the company's net income calculated in accordance with Russian accounting standards was 121.598bn rubles (about $4bn) in 2002, which was 21 percent higher than in 2001.

In 2003 the Russian gas giant is planning to cut expenses by 40bn rubles ($1.32bn), Miller noted. The holding will also sell its non-core assets totaling 6bn rubles ($197m) this year, he added.

In 2003 some 368.3bn cubic meters of gas are to be supplied to Russian consumers at the average gas price of some 464.34 rubles ($15.27) for every 1,000 cubic meters, while the production cost of 1,000 cubic meters of gas is 489.94 rubles ($16.12), Miller specified.

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