Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petrobras posted an unexpected third-quarter loss after drastically reducing the value of oil fields and other assets amid a severe downsizing and weak oil prices. Petrobras lost a net 16.458 billion reais (US$4.9 billion) last quarter, five times more than a year earlier. Despite that, operational and cash flow trends improved and, without an impairment, profit could have totaled 600 million Reais, Chief Financial Officer Ivan Monteiro said.
Brazil’s Petrobras announced it will be spending US$74.1 billion over the next five years, 25% reduction on the US$98.4 billion for the previous five years capital expenditure. This is also the company’s lowest five-year budget since 2006.
Brazil's Petrobras reported second-quarter profit that fell by nearly a third from a year earlier, missing expectations as oil prices fell and it took charges for layoffs and the impairment of a refinery. Petrobras said net income fell 30% to 370 million Reais (US$118 million) in the three months ended June 30 compared with a profit of 531 million Reais a year earlier.
With the release of audited financials, Brazilian oil giant Petrobras believes it has started to normalize its relationship with investors and to implement better corporate governance in the wake of the financial scandal that has rocked the company, its chief financial officer said on Thursday.
Government owned and the largest in the country in assets, Banco do Brasil received this week approval from China’s regulator to open a commercial branch in the country which is Brazil’s main trading partner.