Romania 's leading oil and gas company OMV Petrom (SNP.RO) Thursday reported a 47% rise in third-quarter net profit helped by higher oil prices and lower production costs, news agency Mediafax reports.

Net profit rose to 1.27 billion lei ($386.3 million) in the quarter, compared with RON864 million for the year-earlier period.

Revenue fell 6% in the quarter to RON6.57 billion, mainly due to lower crude oil sales volumes that more than offset higher sales of petroleum products and gas, Petrom said.

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) amounted to RON1.59 billion, a rise of 23% from RON1.29 billion in July-September 2012, due to higher realized oil prices and cost management.

For the first nine months, Petrom's net profit totaled RON3.66 billion, 27% higher than RON2.89 billion in the year-ago period.

Sales in January to September fell 5% on the year earlier to RON18.15 billion, while EBIT rose 14% to RON4.56 billion.

"In E&P (exploration and production), over the first nine months of 2013 we managed to achieve the first year-on-year production stabilization at group level since privatization, as a result of continuous investments," said chief executive officer Mariana Gheorghe.

Ms. Gheorghe said the gas & power division's performance reflected a challenging market environment with subdued demand and low electricity prices, while refining margins remained under pressure, reducing the profitability of the refining and marketing unit.

Petrom, in which Austria 's OMV AG (OMV.VI) holds a 51% stake, is continuing its RON1.2 billion investment plans for 2013, mainly in exploration and production--drilling development wells and field redevelopment projects, the company said.
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