MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian gas giant Gazprom (MCX:GAZP) said on Tuesday it expected record revenue this year thanks to surging gas prices in Europe, while it also set up a fund, seen at 726 billion roubles ($10 billion) by year-end, to manage risks.
The Kremlin-controlled Gazprom, which accounts for over a third of supply on the European gas market, has enjoyed record-high European natural gas prices, boosted by tight supplies.
The company expected core earnings to exceed $45 billion in 2021, while cash flow was seen to be positive this year despite high dividend payouts.
Gazprom also said its board kept its 2021 investment programme unchanged at 1.19 trillion roubles, including capex of 1.02 trillion roubles.
The company said its budget was based on an average gas price of $269.60 per 1,000 cubic metres in its long-term supply contracts with European consumers in 2021.
"Thanks to the initial plan, the income from the gas sales has been increased by almost 30%, which would allow Gazprom to reach a historical record level in terms of revenue in 2021," the company said in a statement.
Gazprom said its reserve fund, designed to control risks, "provides necessary reliability to the budget and resilience to the volatility of external environment". It didn't elaborate further.
($1 = 70.8690 roubles)