MOSCOW, April 7 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian wholesale power generating company OGK-3 said on Monday its net profit calculated to Russian Accounting Standards (RAS) increased 170%, year on year, in 2007 to 2.3 billion rubles ($96.8 million).

OGK-3, which operates six electric power plants with a total capacity of 8,500 MW, said its net profit grew due to increased electric power generation, while production costs had grown insignificantly. Funds deposited at banks from the placement of a new share issue also contributed significantly to profit growth, OGK-3 said.

The company's assets grew almost five-fold in the reporting period to 100.75 billion rubles ($4.2 billion) and shareholder equity climbed more than 500% to 98.7 billion rubles ($4.1 billion), OGK-3 said.

Metals giant Norilsk Nickel holds a 64.89% stake in OGK-3, while the electricity monopoly Unified Energy System holds 26.02% of the company's shares.