Petrobras Profit Falls as Drilling Costs Rise: Corporate Brazil
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Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the world’s largest deep-water oil driller, is becoming less profitable as costs rise faster than sales because of equipment shortages and falling output.
For every $100 of revenue in the third quarter, Petrobras had a gross profit of $25, down from $32 a year earlier and $40 in the same period of 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Gross margins have fallen on a year-over-year basis for 11 straight quarters. Petrobras’s shares plunged by the most in almost three months after the company posted an unexpected drop in net income on Oct. 26.