RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil’s state-run oil company, Petrobras, yesterday said it saw 1.17 billion reais, or US$210 million (RM866 million), in net profits in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021, compared to a loss of US$8.35 billion in the same period last year.
This means the country’s largest company has now marked two consecutive profitable quarters.
Its net earnings in Q4 last year were much higher, however, at about 59.9 billion reais, a major turnaround after three quarters of losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to a statement from the Rio de Janeiro-based firm, its Q1 results were influenced by, among other things, the price increase in Brent crude oil and rising diesel sales.
The average price of a barrel of Brent crude went from US$44.23 in Q4 2020 to US$60.90 in Q1 this year.
“The numbers show our team’s capacity to generate sustainable results for our investors, and for society in general, even in a challenging environment,” said new Petrobras president Joaquim Silva e Luna.
Q1 was marked by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s displeasure with rising fuel prices and his controversial decision to replace respected economist Roberto Castello Branco as head of the company in February.
The move raised fears that the far-right leader will try to interfere with fuel prices as he seeks re-election next year, a concern that worried investors and triggered a sharp drop in shares.
The company substantially raised fuel prices in the first few months of the year, provoking truck drivers to threaten to strike only three years after a similar move paralysed the nation for days.
Petrobras was mired in crisis from 2014 to 2017, when a giant corruption scheme involving business leaders, political parties and former state officials to rig government contracts was revealed.
The pandemic hit just as the company was emerging from the scandal, causing fuel prices to plummet to historic lows last year as lockdowns froze travel all over the world. – AFP, May 14, 2021
