Gazprom-Media makes a loss

Russia’s Gazprom-Media has become an unprofitable business, posting a net loss of R2 billion (€34.8 million) in 2014.

Quoting a report by the company’s leading shareholder Gazprombank, Vedomosti reports that this contrasts with a profit of R8.6 billion in 2013.

However, its adds that Gazprom-Media also saw its revenues increase by 28.3% last year to R72 billion. This was nevertheless largely due to the inclusion of Prof-Media to the total. Without the latter, Gazprom-Media’s revenues would have in fact declined.

For instance, its national commercial broadcaster NTV saw a 12.4% reduction in revenues to R20.3 billion last year, while those at the DTH platform NTV-Plus fell by 6% to R8.8 billion.

On the other hand, the station TNT posted an 8.1% increase, with its revenues rising to R16.9 billion.

NTV-Plus has in fact also become unprofitable, registering a loss of R1.8 billion last year.

Gazprom-Media’s disappointing financial performance can in large part be explained by the fall in the ruble and its impact on the cost of foreign content.