The Regime to Run Dry Soon to Pay Mercenaries

Main "donors" of the state budget face a downfall.

After 2016 the net profit of the two most profitable enterprises controlled by the Belarusian state - Belaruskali and Mozyr refinery - dropped by 5.2 and 2.1 times, Zautra Tvaye Krainy writes.

According to annual reports, last year the net profit of the Soligorsk union dropped from 1.12 billion rubles to 217.2 million, and the profit of Mozyr refinery - from 349.1 million to 164.7 million rubles. In the first case it is caused by an unfavorable situation and the drop in prices for fertilizers, in the second case - a reduction in Russian oil supply.

As of 2015, Belaruskali took the leading position in net profit, and the Mozyr refinery took the third one.

In 2015 the second position was taken by Belarus Gazprom Transgas owned by Gazprom. As of the end of 2016, Belarus Gazprom Transgas had a net loss of 440.1 million rubles.

Gazprom's subsidiary was at the heart of a scandal caused by an attempt of the Belarusian authorities to reduce the price for the Russian gas from $132 to 73 per 1.000 cu m. Only last week the dispute was resolved. According to the agreements reached, in 2018 gas will be supplied at $129 per 1.000 cu m, in 2019 - $127.

In the past year the net loss of another important enterprise Grodno-Azot increased by a dozen times. The producer of nitrogen fertilizers was loss-making in 2015 (2 million rubles), and as a result of 2016, losses rose to 143.4 million rubles.

A good dynamic has been shown by the Minsk Wheeled Tractor Plant; its net profit has almost doubled - from 30 million to 58.9 million rubles.

The financial situation of the BMP-managing company of the Belarusian Iron and Steel Company has improved. It did not bear losses, which equaled to 262.6 million in 2015, and raised the net profit of 39 thousand rubles.

The profit of BelAZ holding increased fourfold (from 1.9 million to 8 million rubles), and the profit of Naftan rose by 1.3 (from 4.9 to 6.6 million rubles). However, these gains cannot compensate for the decline in the money inflow to the economy and to the budget of Belarus raised on the refining and Belaruskali production.