IN THE FIRST EIGHT MONTHS OF 2011 The profit of "Romgaz" has increased by more than 100%

Between January and August 2011, natural gas producer "Romgaz" Mediaş had a net profit of 677.74 million lei (156.77 million Euros), higher than the figure forecasted for the entire year 2011, and 2.27 times higher than the profit it made between January and August 2010.

For 2011, the company has budgeted a net profit of 649.5 million lei, and in the first eight months of the past year it had a net profit of 297.61 million lei.

"The gross and net profit made between January and August 2011 are higher than they were in 2010 due to savings on several costs", according to company data published by Mediafax.

Last year, the company had a net profit of 508.5 million lei.

In the first eight months of 2011, the gross profit has increased 88%, from 439.42 million lei to 825.77 million lei.

During the same period, "Romgaz" Mediaş had a turnover of 2.57 billion lei (594.75 million Euros), up 10.9% YOY from 2.31 billion lei, due to selling a greater volume of imported natural gas.

During the reviewed period, the company sold 759 million cubic meters of imported natural gas, compared to 481 million cubic meters in the first eight months of 2010.

Also, between January and September, the company has produced 4.14 billion cubic meters of natural gas, down 3.5% YOY from 4.29 billion cubic meters.

The sales of natural gas have increased 9.2%, from 4.31 billion cubic meters to 4.71 billion cubic meters.

"Romgaz", a company which is owned by the Romanian state, through the Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Business Environment (MECMA), does not sell natural gas on the regulated market directly.