In the four years of the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL), Petrobras accumulated profits of R$ 358.3 billion (US$ 68 billion), in values corrected for inflation, which led the company to distribute a total of R$ 289 billion (US$ 55 billion) in dividends, almost six times more than the average of the last four governments.
The strategy of concentrating activities in the pre-salt and selling assets in areas considered non-priority pleased the financial market, but it became the target of criticism from unions and the then opposition, which now in the government promises to change the company’s focus. According to a study prepared by Einar Rivero, from TradeMap, the profit accumulated by Petrobras in the Bolsonaro government is 2.6 times the average of the last four governments, already considering the inflation of the period —the account adds the results of the beginning of the second Dilma Rousseff’s tenure and the Michel Temer years.
With the promise of generating value for investors, the state company distributed 5.8 times more dividends and fell in favor of the financial market by becoming one of the companies that best remunerates its shareholders in the world. The amount distributed represents 80% of the company’s total profit. The highest rate of previous administrations was observed in Dilma’s first government, when the company returned to shareholders an amount equivalent to almost half of the profit. The relationship between high dividends and low investment, which was equivalent to barely a third of the average of the last four governments, is one of the main targets of criticism from the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and his allies.
“Petrobras, instead of investing, decided to reward minority shareholders with R$ 215 billion (US$ 41 billion), with a profit of R$ 195 billion (US$ 37 billion). And how much was the investment from Petrobras? Almost nothing”, criticized the President of the Republic, after the State announced the largest profit in the history of Brazilian public companies. The strategy of selling assets and prioritizing investments in the pre-salt began during the administration of Michel Temer, who replaced Dilma Rousseff after her impeachment in 2016, and was reinforced after the inauguration of Bolsonaro.
Translated by AZAHARA MARTIN ORTEGA
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