On Friday, Russian energy major Rosneft posted a net loss due to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and weaker currency.
In the third quarter of 2020, the company’s net loss was at RUB64 billion (USD827 million), compared to the net income of RUB43 billion (USD556 million) in the second quarter.
Rosneft’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in the July-September period more than doubled quarter-on-quarter to RUB366 billion (USD4.7 billion).
In the latest quarter, the company’s oil and gas condensate output dropped by 3.2% on a quarterly basis at 3.9 million bpd due to the oil output cut pact of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its non-member oil producer allies (OPEC+).
Due to the production curbs, Rosneft had to purchase oil from third parties to fulfill its obligations. The purchase amounted to 27.4 million barrels in the period, a 35% jump compared to the second quarter.
Further weighing the reading was the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which drove Rosneft’s headquarters to slash working week with pandemic-related costs in the January-September period amounted to RUB5 billion (USD65 million).
Looking ahead, however, the company maintains its plans to extend a share-buyback program until the end of 2021. Initially, Rosneft planned to complete the USD2 billion open market repurchases in March 2020 with a goal to complete the program by the end of this year.
Next year, the company’s capital expenditures (CAPEX) is maintained at RUB1 trillion (USD13 billion). However, the final count would depend on the development of the OPEC+ deal.
