Forbes compiled a ranking of ten Russian companies by the level of financial debt as of December last year. Net financial debt was calculated as the sum of long-term and short-term loans and lease liabilities minus cash and bank deposits. Banks, insurance companies, exchanges, etc., were not included in the ranking.
«Gazprom» topped the ranking, with the company's net financial debt at the end of 2024 amounting to 6.047 trillion rubles. The company spent 715.4 billion rubles on interest payments on loans, which is 83% more than the previous year. However, the publication notes that in the first half of 2025, «Gazprom's» debt decreased.
The top three also include «Rosneft» with a debt amount of 3.6 trillion rubles and Russian Railways with a debt of 2.77 trillion rubles.
The top ten also include «Atomenergoprom», «Baltic Chemical Complex», State Transport Leasing Company, «En+ Group», «Norilsk Nickel», «SIBUR Holding», and «Avtodor». The total net financial debt of the ten companies included in the ranking exceeds 20.5 trillion rubles.
The publication notes that all the companies were significantly affected by the high Central Bank rate, with some ranking participants seeing the amount of interest paid on loans and credits double or more in 2024. The Central Bank maintained the key rate at a record level of 21% from October 2024 to June 2025.