Analysts, polled by Reuters, forecast net income at $1.349 billion.

Shares in Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Gazprom, paired gains after the report, up 0.7 percent by 0815 GMT after trading 1 percent higher before the announcement.

Denis Borisov, chief analyst at Nomos Bank, said Gazprom Neft was more efficient during the quarter than its peer, Russia’s top crude producer Rosneft, which lost key tax breaks at its important Vankor oil field.

He said Gazprom Neft’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) per barrel were $26.6 compared with Rosneft’s $24.

Gazprom Neft also said its July-September 2011 revenues increased by 38 percent to $11.567 billion on rising crude oil prices, while EBITDA rose 37 percent to $2.759 billion.

Gazprom Neft, formerly known as Sibneft and sold to Gazprom by owners led by tycoon Roman Abramovich for $13 billion in 2005, expects to increase full-year net profit by around 73 percent to $5.4 billion.