MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Petrobras posts loss in second quarter; blames depreciation of the Real

But crude production also dropped and gap between pump prices and imports widened

Brazil state-controlled oil company Petrobras reported a net loss of 1.35 billion Reais (some 633 million dollars at the current exchange rate) in the second quarter, attributing the result to the depreciation of the Real relative to the dollar.

That compares with net income of 9.21 billion Reais in the first quarter of this year and 10.94 billion Reais (then equivalent to 6.86 billion dollars) in the second quarter of 2011.

According to Petrobras, the depreciation of the Real, down 8.53% relative to the greenback thus far this year, “significantly affected the financial result” because of Petrobras’ dollar-denominated debt and the operational costs the company must incur in the US currency.

Petrobras also attributed the net loss to other factors, including a drop in crude production due to maintenance work at wells and the sharp gap between the price it charged for fuel at the pump in Brazil and the price the company paid for fuel imports.

Lower international fuel prices at the end of the second quarter also reduced the value of Petrobras inventories at its foreign refineries, the company said in a press release.

Petrobras said its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) came in at 10.6 billion Reais in the second quarter, down 36% from the first quarter.

The company reported net income of 7.87 billion Reais in the first half of the year, down 64% from the 21.93 billion Reais it posted in the same period of 2011. Its first-half EBITDA amounted to 27.12 billion Reais, 15% lower than in January-June 2011.

Petrobras said it produced an average of 2.57 million boe per day in the second quarter, down 4% from first-quarter output. Average production for the first half came in at 2.62 million barrels per day, virtually unchanged from January to June 2011