Despite these positive results, the company did not announce the expected payment of extraordinary dividends, something that the market took into account.
The oil company Brazilian Petrobras announced on Thursday night an annual profit attributed to shareholders of US$24,884 million in 2023, which represents a decrease of 32.1% compared to the previous year, due to the drop in oil prices.
Consequently, the shares of the state oil company of the sister country plummet to 12% before the market opening this Friday. So, In the last month, Petrobras shares have accumulated a drop of almost 4% (-3.9%).
The results were disclosed by the state oil company and described as “excellent” by the executive director, Jean Paul Prates, in a statement issued by the company. In 2022, total profits had reached US$36,623 million.
The company’s report indicates that the variation is mainly due to the depreciation of the price of Brent (-18%) and the lower margins of derivatives, also highlighting the impact of the increase in operating expenses. While in 2022, a barrel of Brent oil was trading at $101.19, in 2023, the price fell to $82.62.
What the Petrobras report said
Petrobras achieved positive results in 2023 after obtaining profits worth $6,259 million in the last quarter of the year, although this amount was 24.1% lower than that achieved in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Despite these positive results, The company did not announce the expected payment of extraordinary dividends, something that the market took into account. According to Prates, the company will continue to be “rational” in its commercial strategy and dividend policy, which will be adjusted to consider greater investments and the need to maintain financial health.
Last February 28, Petrobras shares experienced a significant drop after Prates stated in an interview with Bloomberg that the company would adopt a more cautious stance on dividend distribution. “We need to be cautious. LShareholders will understand. I would be more conservative than aggressive.“, he expressed when referring to the energy transition that the company faces.
Source: Ambito
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