During the war, the profit of the remaining companies in Russia increased by 1.5 times

In 2022, a hundred companies from “unfriendly” countries that remained in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine increased their profits by one and a half times – up to 1.1 trillion rubles. This is stated in the study “Novaya Gazeta Evropa”.

The French fuel company Total earned the most on the Russian market – 269 billion rubles. This is twice as much as a year earlier. Total still controls shares in Russian gas projects. The company claims that European sanctions and Russian laws do not allow finding a non-Russian buyer for its shares.

The most significant increase in profit in Russia is at the American company Mondelēz. Among other things, it produces confectionery under the brands Milka, Alpen Gold, Oreo. In 2022, the Russian profit of Mondelēz increased more than four times. Another American producer, PepsiCo, has almost the same growth.

Austrian Raiffeisen Bank more than tripled its profit in Russia to 141 billion rubles. He received a financial advantage after Russian banks were disconnected from the SWIFT international transfer system in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In the Russian banking sector, only “Sber” has more profit.

According to experts, profit growth is not always related to revenue growth – it may indicate a reduction in spending on investments in production and advertising.

It is becoming increasingly difficult for foreign companies to leave Russia. Now they cannot sell their business or share in a Russian company without the approval of the Russian authorities. In addition, they must provide the buyer with a 50% discount and make a “voluntary contribution” to the Russian budget – up to 10% of the estimated value of the business. Under a certain schedule, a foreign company selling its Russian business may not receive anything for it.

The Ministry of Finance admitted that the rules were tightened specifically to make exit from Russia unprofitable. According to the calculations of the Kyiv School of Economics, after the start of the war, only 7% of foreign companies managed to leave the Russian market, 41% continued to operate in the same way, the rest introduced various restrictions on work in the country.