Norilsk Nickel, one of the world's largest precious and non-ferrous metal producers, accounting for more than 20% of the world's nickel output, and over 10% of cobalt and 3% of copper, earlier said its RAS net profit leaped 3,020% in the reporting period to 77.95 billion rubles (about $3.06 billion) due to high prices of its products on world markets.
The metals giant's gross profit grew 73.1% year-on-year in January-June 2007 to 120.64 billion rubles (about $4.7 billion).
Norilsk Nickel produces 96% of Russia's nickel, 55% of its copper and 95% of its cobalt. In 2006, the company produced 3.164 million ounces (98.4 metric tons) of palladium, compared to 3.1 million ounces (97.4 metric tons) in 2005. Production of platinum totaled 752,000 ounces (23.4 metric tons) last year, compared with 751,000 ounces (21.29 metric tons) in 2005.
