The Brazilian state oil company Petrobras reported a 14.4% decrease in its net profit for the first quarter of 2023, affected by the drop in oil pricesthe company said in a statement on Wednesday, a result that, however, exceeded analysts’ expectations.
Petrobras reported a net profit of 38.16 billion reais ($7.63 billion) between January and March. Analysts consulted by Refinitiv had estimated a benefit of 31.960 million reais.
The company attributed the lower profit to lower prices of Brentalthough partly offset by lower operating expenses.
The quarterly results They are the first under the command of a leadership and board more aligned with the government of leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Although jean paul prates, chosen by Lula for the position of executive president, took office earlier this year, the company did not approve new members of its board of directors until the end of April. Until then, the council was made up mostly of directors chosen by the administration of right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Under his new board, Petrobras it has continued to pay its shareholders large amounts, and has announced dividends of 24.7 billion reais ($4.94 billion) in the quarter.
However, Petrobras added that its board determined that the company’s management should prepare a proposal to “improve” its dividend policy, possibly including the repurchase of shares.
The proposal will be submitted to the council for consideration at the end of July, Petrobras added.
Last year, Petrobras doled out some 216 billion reais, making it a cash cow for investors but drawing criticism from Lula, who has advocated for more investment.
Revenues fell 1.8% to 139.07 billion reais. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell 6.7% to 72.5 billion reais, beating analysts’ estimate of 67.36 billion reais.
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