By Lise Alves, Senior Contributing Reporter
SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – Brazil’s oil giant, Petrobras, registered a loss of R$3.759 billion during the third quarter of 2015. According to company officials the losses stem from the effects of the significant depreciation of the Brazilian real during the period and the reduction of oil exports.
“The results reflect an increase in net financial expenditures due to the devaluation of the Brazilian real and the increase of expenditures with interest rates,” said Petrobras officials on Thursday during a press conference to announce the results.
According to company officials, during the quarter there was an R$5.396 million increase in net finance expense in relation to the same period last year as a result of foreign exchange losses despite the one percent increase in crude oil an natural gas production and increased domestic demand.
Despite the loss, the company’s balance for the period between January and September is still positive, registering profits of R$2.102 billion. Company records also show that the loss is 29.6 percent lower than that registered during the same period in 2014, of R$5.339 billion.
The accumulated net income for the first nine months of the year was 58 percent lower when compared to the same period in 2014.
The company’s net debt was R$402.3 million as of September 30, 2015, a 43 percent decrease when compared to December 31, 2014, when the company registered a debt of R$282 billion.
In early October Petrobras announced a plan which would reduce investments made by the company by US$15.3 billion during the next two years. According to Ivan de Souza Monteiro, the company’s financial director, however, this has not discouraged foreign investors.
“We will be abroad next week and have a full agenda of those, company and investors, interested in having Petrobras as partners,” said Monteiro during the press conference. Company executives are expected to visit several countries among them Mexico, the United States, China, Canada and the UK.