2023-10-28 10:17:00
Petrobras and Vale reduce dividend distribution Pxhere Petrobras and Vale, the two largest dividend payers in Brazil, have been reducing the pace of profit distribution to shareholders, but for very different reasons. Together, the two companies represented 57% of the total earnings paid to investors in Brazil in 2022 and 41% in 2021. This year, until October, the participation fell to 38%, shows a study by the Meu Dividendo platform. See also Economy After Petrobras’ reduction, gasoline prices fall for the 9th week at gas stations across the country Economy Fuels become cheaper, and inflation preview loses strength in October Economy Petrobras loses in market value the equivalent of a Sabesp While at Vale the reduction was due to the loss of momentum in the economy of China, the largest buyer of iron ore in the world, which affected the mining company’s financial results. At Petrobras, political changes weighed heavily, highlights Wendell Finotti, founder and CEO of Meu Dividendo. • Click here and receive news from R7 on your WhatsApp • Share this news on WhatsApp • Share this news on Telegram And in the oil company, the value distributed to shareholders could fall even further, if a meeting that should take place in November approves the creation of a capital remuneration reserve. In practice, the measure may limit how much of the cash is distributed as dividends to shareholders. For Finotti, the oil company’s new proposal is more concerning for governance issues, due to the measure that opens the door to political appointments in the oil company’s management, than for the reduction in dividend payments themselves, a strategy that has already been taking place at the company. Petrobras distributed 76% of its profit last year, considering data from the third quarter. This year, the percentage fell to 53% by the end of the first half of the year. Trend In a year that began with the revelation of the accounting scandal at Americanas in the first week and has been marked by various uncertainties in Brazil and abroad, publicly traded companies in general reduced the distribution of dividends. In the first 10 months of the year they fell 31%, to R$176 billion, according to the Meu Dividendo study. Initially, it was imagined that the distribution of dividends would be the largest in history in 2023, but, in practice, this is not what has been happening. After a January with record payments, companies reduced distribution month by month. “The dividend market is undergoing transformation this year,” says Finotti. “In times of uncertainty, companies prefer to keep resources in cash. And we are going through various turbulences, economic, political, two ongoing wars, inflation.”, highlights the executive. One of the companies’ strategies to have more cash on hand is to increase the period between the announcement of the distribution of the proceeds and the actual receipt of the funds by the shareholder, which has been lengthening this year. “Companies are starting to hold off on paying dividends for a longer period,” comments Finotti. In October, the average payment period was 117 days, the longest period in the last six years, according to a survey by Meu Dividend. In the same month of 2022, there were 58 days, and in 2021, 49. On average, this year, the deadline for payment of the dividend is 67 days, above the 55 in 2022 and the 63 in 2021, a year still marked by the stoppages of pandemic and, consequently, due to greater uncertainty.
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