“Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4), the world’s fifth-largest oil company by market value, said first-quarter profit beat analyst estimates on higher crude output and prices.
Net income rose to 10.99 billion reais ($6.72 billion), or 84 centavos a share, from 7.73 billion reais, or 88 centavos, in the year earlier period, Rio de Janeiro-based Petrobras said May 13 in a regulatory filing. Sales gained about 9 percent to 54.8 billion reais. The company, which sold $70 billion of shares in September, was expected to post per share profit of 74 centavos, the median estimate of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Oil and natural gas output gained 3 percent after the company added offshore production platforms in the Campos and Santos basins, while crude traded in New York climbed 20 percent in the quarter to average $94.60 a barrel. The company also posted a financial gain of about 2.7 billion reais, helped by the appreciation of the Brazilian real, which reduced the value of the company’s dollar-denominated debt. Per share profit dropped after the company sold new shares in September.
“The stock has underperformed the market, so it could bounce back,” Eric Conrads, who helps manage $12 billion in emerging-market stocks at ING Investment Management in New York, said in a May 13 telephone interview. “The stock has been deeply oversold relative to the Brazilian context.”
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