Petrobras Set for Political Uproar as Board Approves $8.5 Billion Dividend
- Petrobras’s robust dividends have been politically contentious
- Brazil’s oil giant reported 46.1 billion reais in net income
A worker organizes cooking gas canisters near a Petrobras refinery in Duque de Caxias, Brazil.
Photographer: Dado Galdieri/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Petrobras announced another blockbuster dividend payment, rewarding shareholders at a moment of growing concern that Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s return to power in Brazil will bring the bonanza to a halt.
The state-run oil company’s board approved dividends of 3.3489 reais per share, totaling 43.7 billion reais ($8.5 billion), according to a regulatory filing Thursday. It also reported 46.1 billion reais in net income for the third quarter, down from the previous quarter but higher than a year ago, it said in a separate filing.