Russia’s gas giant Gazprom suffered a 45 per year-on-year drop in its net profit in the third quarter of 2019 due to lower gas prices and a drop in sales volumes to Europe.

The company, which holds a monopoly on pipeline gas export in Russia, made Rbs211.8bn ($3.3bn) in net profit attributable to its shareholders in the July to September period, it said on Friday. The company’s revenue from gas sales fell 16 per cent on the year in the third quarter to Rbs1.6tn, according to Financial Times.

The profit decline reflected a fall in export volumes and gas prices, which nearly halved on European spot markets and the selling price in long-term contracts also reduced. Gazprom’s export prices are still largely oil-linked, and reflect oil price drops. Oil prices lost 18 per cent on the year in the period, and 10 per cent in the first nine months of 2019.

Lower gas sales volumes also weighed on the overall profits. Gazprom’s exports to Europe and Turkey, its main export markets, dropped 6 per cent on the year to 53.6 billion cubic meters in the third quarter, continuing the trend of the previous quarter despite approaching winter, when European and domestic gas demand traditionally increases.