Bashneft, one of Russia’s top ten crude producers, posted an IFRS net profit of $547 million the third quarter of 2012, up 62.3 percent from April-June 2012, the company said on Monday.

Bashneft's revenues grew by 13.2 percent in the third quarter to $4.62 billion thanks to larger sales volumes and higher crude oil prices while EBITDA increased by 26.1 percent to $962 million.

“In the third quarter, Bashneft achieved the best results this year. Our net income increased significantly; we optimized the range of petroleum products and increased retail sales,” Bashneft President Alexander Korsik said.

“A reduction in unit costs in production and refining during the nine months of 2012 provides evidence that our strategy for improving performance in all key business areas is implemented consistently.”

The company’s net profit in the first nine months of 2012 grew by 1.5 percent to $$1.328 billion, beating analysts’ forecast of $1.234 billion. Bashneft’s revenues in January-September 2012 increased by 1.3 percent year-on-year, to $12.627 billion and its EBITDA rose by 7.6 percent to $2.549 billion.

During the first nine months of 2012, Bashneft’s net cash flow from operating activities increased by 17.5 percent year-on-year to $1.817 billion, allowing the company to increase capital expenditure by 5.9 percent to $630 million, pay dividends for 2011 and buy back securities from shareholders as part of Bashneft’s reorganization.

In January-September 2012, Bashneft’s oil production grew by 2.4 percent year-on-year to 11.529 million tons. In the third quarter of 2012, Bashneft produced 3.878 million tons, exceeding second quarter output by 1.8 percent.

The company’s production has been stable at 42,000 tons per day for five consecutive quarters.

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