OAO Lukoil, Russia's biggest independent oil company, said fourth-quarter profit tripled, beating analysts' estimates, because of higher prices for crude and refined products, including diesel.

Net income climbed to a record US$3.21 billion from US$1.04 billion a year earlier, the Moscow-based company said yesterday in a statement. The median estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a profit of US$3.1 billion.

Oil prices surged globally in the period, topping US$100 a barrel for the first time in January in New York.

Lukoil also sold more expensive automobile fuels at home as consumers increased purchases of foreign cars. Oil production fell in the fourth quarter and may increase as little as 1.8 percent this year, Chief Executive Officer Vagit Alekperov said last week.

Sales jumped 53 percent to US$24.9 billion, according to Bloomberg calculations based on Lukoil's full-year and nine- month results.