* Q1 net profit down 76 percent to $335 million
* EBITDA down 53 percent to $942 million
* Reuters poll forecast net at $300 million, EBITDA at $920 million
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MOSCOW, June 18 (Reuters) - Russian oil company Gazprom Neft said lower prices meant net profit fell 76 percent to $335 million in the first quarter of 2009, an outcome slightly above the consensus forecast of $300 million.
Revenue fell 48 percent year-on-year to $4.185 billion, while earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declined 53 percent to $942 million.
Gazprom Neft said in a statement on Thursday that lower oil prices and weaker domestic demand had combined with higher inflation and rising costs to hit its results year-on-year.
But its performance showed a sharp improvement compared to the previous quarter. The bottom line recovered from a net loss of $543 million in the last three months of 2008, and EBITDA more than tripled quarter-on-quarter.
Gazprom Neft shares were down 0.6 percent to 102.3 roubles each as of 0812 GMT on the Micex exchange, whose index was down 1.9 percent.
This was the first quarter in which Serbia's NIS refinery was consolidated into the financials of Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of gas export monopoly Gazprom. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Dan Lalor)