Rosneft Profit Falls 77%

Rosneft PJSC, Russia’s biggest oil producer, said third-quarter profit dropped 77% as a decline in export duties lagged behind slumping crude prices. Net income fell to $400 million from $1.7 billion a year earlier, the Moscow-based company said Friday in a statement. That missed the $700 million average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Rosneft, which took control of smaller rival Bashneft PJSC last month, has taken advantage of a weak ruble that curbs costs and a Russian tax system that cushions producers from lower prices to increase drilling and boost output.  However, the monthly fixing of export duties fall a step behind the oil price, putting pressure on earnings, according to Rosneft chief executive officer Igor Sechin. “The environment on the commodity markets remained difficult,” Sechin said in the statement. “Additional pressure on the company’s profitability was from considerable negative export duty lag effect.”