Gazprom (OTCPK:OGZPY) says it swung to a sharp Q1 loss of 116B rubles ($1.64B) from a year-ago net profit of 536B rubles last year.
Q1 sales fell 24% Y/Y to 1.74T rubles from 2.29T rubles, as gas sales to Europe and China dropped 17% to 52B cm while the average price tumbled 36% to 10,800 roubles ($152) per 1,000 cm.
But Gazprom says it would have posted a 288B ruble net profit when excluding currency fluctuations, adding it would use that estimate rather than the net loss when calculating dividends on this year's results.
Gazprom will keep its target for a 2020 dividend payout at 40% of adjusted net income despite the "challenging environment," Bloomberg reports, citing a company presentation ahead of its earnings conference call.
