Russia’s gas giant OAO Gazprom said Wednesday its 2014 net profit plunged 980.26 billion ruble ($19 billion) on year to 159 billion ruble due to weakness in the Russian currency and instability in Ukraine. Gazprom, facing tougher conditions in its biggest market Europe, saw its sales to the continent fall to 159.4 billion cubic meters from 174.0 bcm a year ago. Russia’s ruble plummeted last year, losing around half of its value against the dollar, due to lower oil prices and a crisis of confidence in the currency following Western sanctions on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine. The weaker ruble also pushed Gazprom’s net debt higher by 48% to 1.65 trillion rubles. The company said it suffered a 34 billion ruble loss on its balance sheet due to a dispute with Ukraine’s state energy company Naftogaz. Gazprom has been in arguing with […]