Russian Energy Giants Lukoil, Novatek among Most Profitable for Investment

Russian oil company Lukoil and the country’s biggest private gas producer, Novatek, are among the 20 biggest large-cap value creators for shareholders, a new rating by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) shows, according to Vedomosti.

Lukoil came in 10th and Novatek took 20th place among 50 of the top companies, on the basis of total shareholder return (TSR) over the five years from 2014 through 2018, the consultancy said on Wednesday.

Lukoil shareholders enjoyed 27.1 percent TSR over the period, while Novatek shares delivered 23.5-percent returns. Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, which was also included in the ratings and took 48th place, delivered 16.6-percent returns.

Seven American and two Chinese companies took higher spots ahead of Lukoil in the large-cap BCG rating, led by U.S. technology company Nvidia. The firm, which also was at the top of the list in 2018, is followed by Netflix and Chinese investment holding Tencent Holdings.

BCG has been ranking companies over the past 21 years. Russian companies and Novatek, in particular, have made the top 10 before. Last year, however, no Russian company made the list, which was dominated by U.S. firms.