(Bloomberg) -- Austria exported more energy than it imported for the first time in two decades, with steady natural gas flows from Russia and lower power consumption giving a boost to state-owned companies. 

The data underscores the uneven impact of the energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Even as electricity and gas price shocks forced consumers to reduce consumption, companies including OMV AG and Verbund AG profited by exporting more energy to Austria’s neighbors.

OMV reported Thursday that Russia delivered all the agreed gas volumes under a long-term contract with Gazprom running to 2040. The company purchased 5.3 terawatt hours a month of the fuel in the final quarter of last year. Overall, Austria imported almost twice the volume of gas its economy required, allowing traders to sell just over 90 terawatt hours of the fuel abroad.  

Read More: Russian Gas Glut Shows Austria Still in Kremlin’s Energy Orbit

The power sector was similar, where state-controlled Verbund AG is the country’s most-valuable company. Electricity consumption fell 5.3%, even as cheap hydro-power generation surged more than fifth over the year before. 

That allowed Austria to transmit more electricity abroad than it imported for the first time since 2003, according to E-Control. Power exports rose nearly 9% to 21.62 terawatt hours against imports that tumbled 25% to 21.55 terawatt hours, according to the regulator. 

Soaring profits at both OMV and Verbund have been subject to windfall taxes that the government extended until the end of 2024. Even with the levy, OMV announced Wednesday it would pay investors a dividend more than 50% higher than expected. Verbund, which raised its profit forecast in November, reports full-year earnings next month. 

(Updates details on power trades in the fifth paragraph. An earlier version of this story was corrected to clarify clarify power exports versus imports instead of consumption in the first and fourth paragraphs.)

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