Petrobras' gross debt of more than 160 billion dollars plummets to 59,6 billion and the state-owned company reaches the target set more than a year in advance!

Petrobras' seemingly unpayable debt: in 2014, expenses reached around US$1,7 billion per quarter; expressive reduction is a demonstration of the financial rebalancing process achieved by the Brazilian oil giant

Petrobras informed the market, in a material fact, last Tuesday (16/11), that it is significantly reducing the amount with interest and charges of its financial debt. Expenses with these loans dropped to US$ 669 million in the 3rd quarter of 2021, a figure approximately 31,1% lower than the US$ 971 million spent in the 3rd quarter of 2020. When comparing the first nine months of 2021 with the same period compared to last year, the reduction obtained was also significant: a drop from approximately US$ 2,8 billion to approximately US$ 2,3 billion, a reduction of 17,9%.

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For many, the debt seemed unpayable. Debt service spending reduction is yet another demonstration of the financial rebalancing process achieved by the Brazilian oil giant

“The reduction in debt service expenses is yet another demonstration of the financial rebalancing process achieved by Petrobras. These are interest and charges related to the loans that the company contracted, amounts that were reverted to creditors. Now, part of these resources are available for allocation to profitable projects that generate value for the company or to be distributed to shareholders, with Brazilian society being the biggest beneficiary, with around 37% of the amounts returned, which add up to the almost R$ 180 billion in taxes that we expect to pay in 2021”, highlights Rodrigo Araujo, Chief Financial and Investor Relations Officer.

In 2014, Petrobras had a debt of more than 160 billion dollars

The decrease in expenses with interest and charges is yet another reflection of the significant drop in the total amount of Petrobras' debt. In 2014, these expenses reached amounts of US$ 1,7 billion per quarter in financing costs alone, and the total amount of its debt reached more than US$ 130 billion, or more than US$ 160 billion when taking into account It also includes the chartering of oil platforms and other assets that started to be considered debt as of 2019 with the adoption of the IFRS 16 (Leases).

For many, that debt seemed unpayable. Petrobras, however, set as a goal the reduction of its total gross debt (financing and leases) to US$ 60 billion, an amount considered healthy for a company like Petrobras, by the end of 2022. Recently, in the results of the 3rd quarter of 2021, Petrobras reported that it reduced its gross debt to the amount of US$ 59,6 billion, thus reaching the target set more than a year in advance.