Russia's Rosneft posts 64 pct drop in 4Q profit

State-controlled Russian oil giant Rosneft said Wednesday its net profit fell 64 percent to $775 million in the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier as oil prices tumbled and export duties skyrocketed.

The fourth quarter net profit figure was down from $2.2 billion a year earlier, the company said in a statement. However, Rosneft's full-year net almost doubled in 2008, to $11.1 billion.

Revenues of Russia's largest oil producer slumped 34.5 percent in the fourth quarter, to $10.8 billion, but revenues rose 40.2 percent to $69 billion.

The company's president Sergei Bogdanchikov described the results as the company's best "in terms of operations and finances."

Just like other Russian oil producers, Rosneft suffered from a sharp drop in oil prices last fall and an increase in the export duty in the fourth quarter, which left oil producers with almost no profits.