MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Repsol-YPF profits strong.

The Spanish-Argentine oil company Repsol-YPF profits in the first nine months of 2003 dropped 8% reaching 1,6 billion Euros.

According to an official release from the company in Madrid the slight contraction was mainly because of the positive impact in 2002 of the sale of Repsol-YPF 23% share in Gas Natural that meant income in excess of a billion Euros.

Net profits and operational profits actually increased 23% reaching 3 billion Euros.

The company's average daily hydrocarbons production in the first nine months of 2003 was 1,130,400 barrels, an 11,4% increase over the same period in 2002.

Production actually increased in Trinidad Tobago, Argentina, and to a lesser extent in Bolivia, Ecuador and Algeria.

Overall company debt stood in September at 5,951 billion Euros, 7,4% less that the previous quarter and a third of what it was two years ago.