Russian gas producer Gazprom said its second quarter net profit was up 13 per cent to 227.6 billion roubles (€4.4 billion) boosted by foreign exchange gains but still short of analysts expectations.

The company, the world’s largest gas producer, added that its revenues were up to 1.32 trillion roubles in the second quarter of this year from 1.11 trillion roubles a year ago, beating analyst expectations of 1.29 trillion roubles.

Gazprom – in the spotlight due to a pricing dispute with Ukraine after stopping supplies there in June – said it had to set aside 215.8 billion roubles in the first six months of the year due to Ukraine's gas debt.

Andrey Polischuk, an analyst with Raiffeisenbank, said that provisions are "a temporary negative issue". In total, Ukraine owes Gazprom $5.4 billion for gas supplies. – Reuters