The Brazilian Petrobras profit jumped 55.7% in 2019
The state-owned oil company Petrobras, the largest company in Brazil, obtained a net profit of 40,137 million reais in 2019 (about $ 9,205 million), representing a growth of 55.7% compared to 2018, the company said Wednesday .
The profit recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019 amounted to 8,153 million reais (1,870 million dollars), a value 287.8% higher than the same period of 2018, according to the company in a statement that it sent to its shareholders.
Petrobras attributed the good results to its high average production of oil and natural gas, which for the first time exceeded the barrier of 3 million barrels of oil and natural gas equivalent per day.
According to the balance sheet of the oil company, the implementation of a new management strategy, overcoming the scandal of the corrupts revealed by the Lava Jato Operation, made its gross operating result (adjusted Ebitda) last year to increase by 12, 54%, up to 129,249 million reais (29,644 million dollars).
Net sales revenue, however, fell 2.6% over the previous year and totaled 302.245 million reais ($ 69.322 million) in 2019, due to the reduction in Brent oil prices, as well as the decrease in revenues in the units that the oil company sold abroad.
In that sense, the president of Petrobras, Roberto Castello Branco, highlighted in the statement sent to the market that the positive annual result was driven by the divestment policy implemented in his management, since only the income from the sale of assets totaled 16,300 million reais (3,738 million dollars).
Castello Branco also stressed that the viability of investment financing, divestments and the "strong generation of operating cash" allowed the reduction of the company's net debt, which stood at 78,861 million reais in December last year (18,087 millions of dollars).
The result for 2019 consolidates the recovery initiated in 2018 by the oil company, when it achieved its first benefit after four consecutive years of losses and which ended a long cycle marked by the gigantic corruption scandal uncovered in the framework of the Lava Jato operation , which generated a deep economic crisis in Petrobras.
