Russian state-controlled energy firm Gazprom saw its operating profit plunge 32 per cent in 2009 due to slumping gas sales but its net profit rose five per cent, the company said yesterday.

Operating profit came in at $29.3 billion (€22.1 billion) last year, the world's largest gas company said in a statement.

A key factor was the "decrease of volumes of gas sold in all geographic segments", with sales down nine percent to $101.8 billion.

However, net profit rose five percent to $26.5 billion, reflecting several one-off factors that had a positive impact on Gazprom's balance sheet. These included an asset swap with Germany's E.ON in which Gazprom exchanged the Yuzhno-Russkoye field in western Siberia for upstream assets, said Alexander Nazarov, an analyst at Metropol investment bank in Moscow.

Other factors included a deal in which Gazprom exercised a buy-back option to regain 20 per cent of its oil arm Gazprom Neft from Italy's ENI and fluctuations in the forex markets that favoured the Russian gas giant, Mr Nazarov added.

Many Russian energy companies saw profits fall in 2009 as the price of oil and gas plunged due to the global economic crisis.

The Russian government owns a controlling stake of slightly just above 50 per cent in Gazprom.