Petrobras maintains dividend level, but hints at change
The decision by Petrobras’s board of directors to approve the payment of R$24.7 billion in dividends shows the government’s difficulty in quickly changing the remuneration rule for the oil company’s investors, although it is clear that the federal government, the controlling shareholder, has not given up on the change.The announcement made on Thursday was in line with what the company has been distributing to shareholders, the government being the largest of them. The Brazilian government will receive R$9 billion of the amount that the company will pay in two installments relative to the first quarter’s profit of R$38.16 billion — R$7.08 billion will be transferred directly to the federal government and the rest through the stake held by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES).President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has repeatedly criticized the dividends paid in recent quarters by Petrobras, reportedly asked CEO Jean Paul Prates to make changes gradually. People familiar with the matter say this is a "comfortable" position for the government, because it allows them to say that there is a policy of payments to shareholders that cannot be torn up, although it is clear that Mr. Lula and Mr. Prates want to change it.The government’s assessment of the issue does not seem to be unique either: the Ministry of Finance benefits from high dividends since they help to balance out the government’s accounts, but the government’s political wing and Mr. Lula’s Worker’s Party criticize the distribution ignoring precisely that the federal government is one of the main beneficiaries. "It is convenient for [Finance Minister Fernando] Haddad," said a source close to the company.The assessment is that second-quarter dividends may already be limited. In the notice of material fact that detailed the payment, the oil company said its board of directors ordered the company’s executives to make "improve" the remuneration policy to shareholders. In other words, they are asking for a change in the policy. The study is expected to be submitted for the board’s consideration before the end of July.Thursday’s decision by the board followed the current rule in force: in case of gross debt below $65 billion, Petrobras must remunerate shareholders with 60% of the difference between operating cash flow and investments. At the end of the first quarter, the company’s gross debt was $53.35 billion.And capping the dividend is not the only relevant change the company is expected...
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