The revenue of Russian companies in 2022 for the first time in history amounted to 1,268 trillion rubles (or almost 1.3 quadrillion – a number from one followed by 15 zeros). It is reported by RBC with reference to the data of the Federal Tax Service (FTS).
Experts interviewed by the publication attribute this to the growth of oil and gas revenues and taking into account exchange rate differences due to sharp fluctuations of the ruble, as well as the recovery of consumer demand for goods, works and services. The material also says that in 2022 the volume of Russian exports of fuel and energy products (including oil, oil products, gas, coal) increased by 43%, to $383.7 billion.
However, it is noted that with a two-fold increase in revenue, the profit of companies increased slightly – from 29.4 trillion rubles in 2021 to 31.1 trillion rubles (by 5.9%). With inflation at 13.8% in real terms, profit actually declined. Experts explain the discrepancy in figures by business costs that have grown against the backdrop of sanctions.
The indicators of organizations calculated by the Federal Tax Service differ from the financial results of Rosstat. Thus, the statistical service displays the balanced financial result (profits minus losses) of Russian companies. Statistics are compiled without taking into account banks and small businesses, based on financial statements. In 2022, the result was RUB 25.9 trillion, down 12.6% year-on-year. The Federal Tax Service recognizes income and expenses differently, since the tax code contains categories of income that are not taken into account when determining the tax base for income tax, as well as expenses for which the tax base can be reduced, and those for which it cannot be reduced.
Alexander Chepurenko, professor at the Department of Economic Sociology of the Department of Sociology of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, said that the growth in revenue with a slight increase in profits indicates that there has been a "jump-like increase in business costs." So, he recalled that in 2022 there was a break in supply chains, logistics costs increased due to parallel imports and the search for other suppliers.
The Insider has previously drawn attention to how the Russian authorities are trying to recreate the Soviet ideology, claiming that they will not repeat the economic mistakes of the past. According to Putin, the country is developing in accordance with the laws of the market, but Soviet economic principles are being revived in Russia just as successfully as political ones: games with statistics, unrealistic development plans, formal income growth at the expense of investments, elements of the state plan and relatively honest methods of taking people's money. The Kremlin's economic bloc is increasingly using Soviet tricks to hide the facts of growing problems – and this is a ticking time bomb. Read more in the article “We can’t help but repeat. How Russia is forced to reproduce the economy of the late USSR.