Russian Railway posts 1H 2009 net profit of 23.4 billion Roubles

Russian Railways, Russia's railway giant, has posted a 1H 2009 net profit of 23.4 billion Roubles under IFRS.

The bottom line is down from 68.2 billion Roubles for the same period in 2008, on the back of Revenues also falling to 532 billion Roubles from 575.6 billion Roubles in 1H2008.

According to the statement, profit before tax plummeted 60% year-on-year in 1H 2009 to 42.6 billion Roubles from 106.5 billion Roubles in 1H 2008, which was mostly due to the exchange rate loss of 6.8 billion Roubles, compared to a 1.5 billion Roubles profit in 1H 2008, and interest expenses going up to 14.5 billion Roubles from 7.8 billion Roubles a year ago.