Russia's Transneft Reports 19% Drop

Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft's first-half net profit fell 19.2 percent year on year to 92.1 billion roubles ($1.38 billion), the company said on Tuesday.

Transneft's first-half earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at 208.2 billion roubles, down 3.5 percent from the same period last year, the company said.

Reporting by Maxim Rodionov Writing by Tom Balmforth