The Petrobras Council meeting scheduled for this Wednesday (1st) morning will represent a litmus test for the new president, Jean Paul Prates (PT), who is still isolated in the collegiate. The eleven board members will discuss the size of the share of the profit for the fourth quarter that will be delivered to shareholders.
Board sources heard by CNN point out that the trend is to maintain, at least for the time being, the current dividend policy, giving up profit in favor of shareholders.
There is even the possibility that the distribution of dividends exceeds 100% of the company’s profit, reaching up to 120%. In that case, the state-owned company would need to burn reserves to remunerate those who hold company shares.
The distribution of billionaire dividends is criticized by members of the Lula government (PT) and the Workers’ Party itself. The president of the PT, Gleisi Hoffman, had already manifested herself, even last year, rejecting the current policy.
“Once the election is over, the bloodletting at Petrobras returns. They are preparing the distribution of R$ 50 billion in dividends. We do not agree with this policy, which deprives the company of its investment capacity and only enriches shareholders. Petrobras has to serve the Brazilian people,” she said in November via Twitter.
The Shareholder Remuneration Policy, approved by the Board of Directors in 2019 and modified in subsequent years, provides for periodic payments. The state-owned company argues that the payments per share reflect the decrease in the company’s debt.
Prates could be the pivot of a change in this scenario, but market analysts understand that this would drive away investors and devalue the oil company.
This Tuesday (28), Petrobras had a blow on the São Paulo stock exchange, after announcing a reduction in gasoline and diesel prices on the eve of the return of federal fuel taxes. Government emissaries went from Brasilia to Rio de Janeiro to plead for a price cut so as not to impact the consumer so much. Common shares plunged 4.39%.
The distribution of dividends for 2022 has already reached around R$180 billion. This is equivalent to practically 100% of the company’s profits. Giving more money to shareholders could make value exceed profit, but that is not unanimous among directors.
If he is willing to rein in more billionaire dividends, Prates will need internal help and the support of five other directors. The problem is that, of the eleven, four are former members of the Bolsonaro government (PL) and another four representatives of private minority shareholders. With these eight directors, the state-owned company had already approved, in November, the payment of billionaire mega-dividends to shareholders.
The state-owned company does not comment on results and distribution of values before the release of the balance sheet to the market, which should become public at the end of the afternoon of this Wednesday (1st) after the closing of the stock market.
When talking about dividends, they remember that there is an internal policy at the state-owned company. She foresees that, in case of gross debt lower than US$ 65 billion, the company will be able to distribute to its shareholders 60% of the difference between operating cash flow and acquisitions of fixed and intangible assets (investments). In addition, it also contemplates the possibility of paying extraordinary dividends, provided that its financial sustainability is preserved.
That is, there is no ceiling for distributing money from the state-owned company to shareholders. The biggest one, by the way, is the federal government, which earns the most money when profits are shared.
Source: CNN Brasil
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