Petrobras Signals Potential Dividend Cut Amid Probe
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Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the oil company at the center of Brazil’s biggest ever corruption scandal, may halt dividend payments this year to protect cash amid a corruption probe that has blocked access to debt financing.
Petrobras, as the most-indebted oil company is known, plans to use more than half of its cash holdings this year to cover investments and expenses including debt service costs, Chief Financial Officer Almir Barbassa said Thursday at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro. The company started 2015 with $25 billion, and plans to end the year with $8 billion to $12 billion on hand, he said.