RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The chief executive of Brazil’s state-led oil company Petrobras is resisting pressure from President Jair Bolsonaro to resign following tensions over rising fuel prices, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Roberto Castello Branco. Foto de arquivo de 15/03/2011 de Roberto Castello Branco, ent¿o diretor de RelaÁ¿es com Investidores da Vale, durante semin·rio no Rio de Janeiro. O economista Roberto Castello Branco aceitou o convite para presidir a Petrobras no futuro governo de Jair Bolsonaro. A informaÁ¿o, antecipada pelo jornal O Estado de S. Paulo, foi confirmada na manh¿ desta segunda-feira, 19, pela assessoria do futuro ministro da Economia, Paulo Guedes, por meio de nota distribuÌda ¿ imprensa. 15/03/2011 - Foto: WILTON JUNIOR/ESTAD¿O CONTE¿DO
Roberto Castello Branco was appointed CEO of Petroleo Brasileiro SA when Bolsonaro took office at the start of 2019, and he has dealt periodically with the president’s complaints about prices.
While Bolsonaro has expressed sympathy for truckers threatening to strike over higher diesel prices, Castello Branco said their complaints are not the company’s problem and insisted that Petrobras will set prices independently of political pressure.
“He won’t give in and he does not plan to leave,” said one of the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. “There was a time when the board of directors was pro-government, and now it’s independent.”
On Thursday, Bolsonaro signaled his dissatisfaction with the Petrobras CEO during an announcement about lower fuel taxes.
“The head of Petrobras said a few days ago: ‘I don’t have anything to do with truckers.’ That’s what he said, the head of Petrobras. That’s going to have a consequence obviously,” Bolsonaro said during a live video chat after markets closed.
Petrobras has been raising fuel prices since a Reuters report on Feb. 5 disclosed details of its revised pricing policy, which led analysts to downgrade the company’ shares on concerns of possible political interference.
“I can’t and wouldn’t interfere at Petrobras – even if something will happen at Petrobras in the coming days,” Bolsonaro said on Thursday. “Something needs to change. It will happen.”
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Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras
NYSE: PBRPETR4EnergyOil & Gas Integrated43,199 employees
$159.11B
Market cap
Analyst target $23.31
Wall Street view
4.4Buy/ 5
11 Buy3 Hold0 Sell
Avg. price target $23.31 · +29% vs 200-day
Valuation & profitability
Market cap$159.11B
Revenue (TTM)$548.49B
P / E ratio6.2
Profit margin24.3%
Return on equity30.3%
Price & risk
52-wk low $10.6552-wk high $25.60
Beta (volatility)-0.23
200-day average$18.06
Revenue trend · 6y
20202025
Latest $88.10B
Ownership
Institutions22.4%
Shares outstanding3.72B
Top holderGQG Partners LLC
Institutional holders5+ funds
Dividend
Yield15.3%
Payout ratio28.3%
Fwd. annual$1.68
What Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras does. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras explores, produces, and sells oil and gas in Brazil, China, the United States, the Americas, Asia, Europe, Singapore, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Exploration and Production; Refining, Transportation & Marketing; and Gas & Low Carbon Energies. The Exploration and Production segment explores, develops, and produces…
