OREANDA-NEWS. RAO "UES of Russia" has released the consolidated interim financial statements of RAO UES Group (the "Group") for the first half of 2006 prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

The Group's revenues and other operating income in H1 2006 amounted to RU453.3 billion, an increase of RUB62.2 billion compared to the same period of last year. Compared to the same period last year, the Group's operating expenses grew RUB55.6 billion to RUB399.9 billion.

Compared to H1 2005, the Group's H1 2006 operating profit was up RUB6.6 billion, or 14%, to RUB53.4 billion, while the net income before tax amounted to RUB47.2 billion, up RUB8.5 billion.

In January – June 2006, the Group reported a net income of RUB27.2 billion, which represents an increase of RUB5.3 billion, or 24%, compared to H1 2005. This was chiefly due to the increase in net income from operations by RUB6.6 billion and reduction in financial expenses by RUB1.6 billion.

Over the reporting period, the Group's net profit attributable to minority interests grew year-on-year by RUB1.4 billion (25%) to RUB7.1 billion. This was due to the increase in profit at the Group's entities attributable to minority interests.