The Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras reported a 6.3% decrease in its recurring net income for the fourth quarter compared to the previous year.
The company reported a recurring net profit of 41.0 billion reais (8.31 billion dollars) in the quarter ended in December. Analysts surveyed by LSEG expected a profit of 35.3 billion reais.
For the entire year 2023, the company's recurring net income of 136.0 billion reais exceeded analysts' estimate of 125.0 billion reais surveyed by LSEG, but represented a 24.2% decline compared to the previous year.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the fourth quarter decreased by 8.5% to 66.85 billion reais, below analysts' estimate surveyed by LSEG, which expected 76.3 billion reais.
Petrobras' sales revenues amounted to 134.3 billion reais in the quarter, representing a year-on-year decrease of 15.3%.
In 2023, investments amounted to 12.7 billion dollars, a 29% increase compared to 2022, mainly due to higher expenses in its presalt oil fields, the company said. CAPEX was 21% below the forecast for the year.
In a separate presentation, Petrobras said its board authorized the submission to shareholders for approval of a dividend of 14.2 billion reais, paying shareholders 1.09894844 reais per share.
The company will pay a first installment to shareholders in May and a second in June.
The company also informed the market that it repurchased 2.7 billion reais in shares in the fourth quarter.
In January, Petrobras said its production would increase to 2.78 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2023, 3.7% more than in 2022.
Commercial oil and natural gas production reached 2.44 million boepd, while oil production alone amounted to 2.24 million barrels per day (bpd), the company said, attributing the result to the start-up last year of four offshore platforms.
