Export policy of Gazprom can bring the company to bankruptcy

The US rating agency Platts has published its latest ranking of the 250 largest energy companies in the world - Global Energy Company Rankings. "National Treasure" of Russia company Gazprom has failed in it from the 4th to the 43rd place. Why did the almost state oil and gas giant reach such a life? While a completely private company Surgutneftegaz rose from the 18th to the 12th place?

The Platts’ rating favorably differs from most business ratings with the fact that it is based on quantitative, not evaluative – i.e. subjective - parameters. But at the same time, it is its weakness: if a person (expert, who makes the rating) knows the true value of some financial fluctuations and understands what particulars of the company is more important here and now, a standard calculator doesn’t has such knowledge. The Platts’ coefficients don’t depend on the market situation and don’t react to changes, and last year the changes were dramatic. Yes, there is no subjectivity in the rating, that’s truth; but the question is, how much companies’ accounting, on the basis of which the figures are calculated, correspond the reality.

Companies are evaluated on four basic parameters: the value of assets, revenues, profits and return on invested capital (the ratio of the net operating profit to average amount of total invested capital). And just the low margin of capital, calculated in US dollars, "ruined" Gazprom: it made up only 1%, while the Surgutneftegaz’s one was 28%. We should note that in general performances of the majority of the rating’s representatives declined: so, companies of the top 10 fell by about 35% in terms of revenues and profits.