KazMunaiGas EP, Kazakhstan's second-largest oil producer, said its net profit for the three months ended March 2011 was 59 billion tenge, or about $403 million. Earnings per share were 810 tenge, or $0.9 per Global Depositary Receipt, it said.
KazMunaiGas EP, the London-traded unit of state oil and gas company KazMunaiGas, said the average price of Brent crude during the first three months of 2011 was $105 per barrel, 38 percent higher than in the same year-earlier period.
Higher oil prices were partially offset by an increase in operating taxes, production costs and sales expenses, it said.
KazaMunaiGas EP produced 3.17 million tonnes of crude, or 261,000 barrels per day, in the January-March period. This was 0.3 percent less than a year ago due to emergency power cuts related to bad weather in March.
The company's net cash position as of March 31 was 600 billion tenge ($4.1 billion), compared with 576 billion tenge ($3.9 billion) at the end of the previous quarter.
(Reporting by Robin Paxton; Editing by Mike Nesbit) Keywords: KAZMUNAIGASEP/ (robin.paxton@thomsonreuters.com; +7 7272 508500) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
© 2011 AFX News
