Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) -- OAO Gazprom may say profit rose 5.2 percent in the first quarter as Russia's largest energy producer benefited from higher natural-gas prices at home and abroad.

Net income probably advanced to 221 billion rubles ($9.1 billion) from 210 billion rubles in the same period last year, according to the median estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. The range was between 171 billion and 286 billion rubles. Sales probably rose 34 percent to 822 billion rubles.

Moscow-based Gazprom makes most of its profit from sales to Europe, where it has a quarter of the market and prices are pegged to crude oil. Price increases on the domestic market and in former Soviet republics such as Ukraine are starting to make a once loss-making business more profitable.

``This should be far and away the strongest quarterly set of results,'' Troika Dialog said in a note to investors this week. At the same time, the Moscow-based brokerage warned Gazprom investors to be wary of an economic slump affecting European energy demand and a 31 percent increase in costs since last year.

Shares of state-run Gazprom, with ambitions to become the world's biggest company with a $1 trillion market value, have tumbled 61 percent since May, the same as the benchmark Micex Index, of which it is the biggest component.

The state-run company is reviewing its spending program amid tightening credit markets and lower revenue expectations. Gazprom plans to spend more than $30 billion this year on new projects as output drops at mature fields in western Siberia.

Gazprom and the country's three largest oil companies yesterday appealed to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to provide financing for energy projects should it become necessary.

``Gazprom considers it reasonable to use state funds for new long-term investments into energy projects,'' the company said in a statement. ``However, at the moment Gazprom has no need for additional financing above what was planned earlier.''

Chief Executive Officer Alexei Miller said on Sept. 23 that the global credit crisis ``in no way affects Gazprom'' and that the company ``will absolutely finance all the projects it's planning,'' according to the Interfax news service.

First-quarters results are expected to be published as early as today. Following is a summary of analysts' estimates, with figures in billions of rubles.

            1Q 2008      1Q 2007      % Change    High/Low
            Estimate     Reported                 Estimate

Revenue        822          612          34.3        924/726

Net Income     221          210           5.2        286/171

The survey included analysts at Citigroup Inc., Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Troika Dialog, Veles Capital, Alfa Bank, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Renaissance Capital.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lucian Kim in Moscow at lkim3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 8, 2008 02:00 EDT