Petrobras triples income for first half of 2018

Petrobras reported a net income of R$17billion (US$4.6 billion) in the first half of 2018, over three times the US$1.5 billion reported in the first half of 2017.

The positive result was mainly influenced by the increase in international oil prices, associated with the depreciation of the Brazilian Real against the US dollar.

In the same period, net debt fell 13 per cent compared to December 2017, to US$ 73.66 billion.

Operating income and cash inflows of US$5 billion from divestments in the first half were the main factors for reducing net debt, which totalled 3.23 times EBITDA, compared to 3.67 at the end of 2017.

The performance of the company’s operations maintained a positive trend, which had already been recorded in previous quarters, with an operating income 18 per cent higher than the first half of 2017, totalling R$34.5 billion, with lower general and administrative expenses and lower equipment idleness expenses.

Petrobras’s total oil and gas production was 2.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first half, in line with the target set for 2018.