Lukoil sees FY profits exceed yr earlier, oil output up 1.5%

 "We are not expecting a drop in profit this year," Alekperov told journalists in Tashkent.

"I believe profit will grow."

Separately, company vice president Leonid Fedun said the company expects oil production to climb 1.5% this year, while total hydrocarbon production could rise by 2.0% to 2.5% thanks to the opening of Russia’s Yuzhno-Khylchuyusskoye field.