Brazil’s troubled state-run oil company, Petrobras, is well on its way to recovery, according to first quarter balance sheets released Thursday. The company earned a net profit of R$4.45 billion, reversing a first-quarter 2016 net loss of R$1.25 billion. Petrobras suffered severe losses in 2015 and 2016 following a sweeping corruption scandal. The scandal forced Petrobras to abandon key projects and suffer steep write-downs in asset values. The company has undergone a major restructuring since mid-2016. Profits returned on a combination of factors. One factor is sale of assets, which has helped pay down debt and reduce debt-service costs. Another is refocusing of investments on core oil drilling and refining operations. This led to a 9% rise in crude oil production year-on-year to an average of 2.25 mil lion barrels per day. Petrobras has also increased its exports of oil derivatives while cutting operational costs.
Link to Folha news agency article
More Testimonials