Petrobras reports 48.6% profit increase and declares $2.1bn in dividends

Brazil’s Petrobras has reported a 48.6% increase in net profit to 35.2bn reais in the first quarter of 2025 compared with the same period last year, bolstered by non-recurring events.

The oil producer’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) slightly increased by 1.7% year-on-year to 61bn reais. Excluding non-recurring effects, the adjusted EBITDA was reported at 62.3bn reais.

In addition to its financial performance, Petrobras’ board of directors approved the payment of 11.72bn reais in dividends and interest on equity to shareholders, which translates to around 0.91 real per share.

Petrobras CEO Magda Chambriard said: “We started 2025 with robust operational and financial results, which reflect Petrobras’ technical capacity to overcome challenges and generate value for Brazilian society.

“We increased our production by 5.4% compared to the last quarter of 2024 and thus reached a cash position of $8.5bn with our operations, which allows us to invest to continue generating value and remunerating our shareholders.”

The company’s capital expenditure (capex) during the quarter totalled $4.1bn, up from $3bn a year earlier.

The total oil, gas and gas liquids production amounted to 2.77 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (mboe/d), an increase of 5.4% from the previous quarter.

Petrobras CFO and investor relations officer Fernando Melgarejo said: “We remain committed to executing our business plan, which is why we invested $4.1bn in the first quarter of the year, which represents 22% of the annual guidance. These investments are concentrated in pre-salt projects, especially in the Búzios and Atapu fields.

“We are drilling more wells and connecting them and advancing in the construction of new units that will sustain our production curve. These are investment projects that generate value for our shareholders and will translate into revenue in the coming years.”

Investors have scrutinised Petrobras’ investments, especially after they exceeded the company’s own forecasts for 2024, raising concerns over potential dividend reductions, according to a report by Reuters.

Net revenue for the quarter increased by 4.6% to 123.1bn reais, slightly below the 124.9bn reais analysts had anticipated.

In related news, Petrobras made a significant discovery of high-quality, contaminant-free oil in the pre-salt layer of the Santos Basin.

The find was at the exploratory well 3-BRSA-1396D-SPS in the Aram block, situated 248km from Santos, São Paulo, in waters 1,952m deep.

“Petrobras reports 48.6% profit increase and declares $2.1bn in dividends” was originally created and published by Offshore Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.