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Petrobras' market value is associated with the moment Brazilian politics is currently going through
Over the past two months, the Petrobras observed a reduction of almost R$ 100 billion in its market value. The phenomenon can be explained by the political confusion in which the state-owned company is involved, since its actions fluctuate according to the political moment experienced by the country.
In order to understand the current situation, it is important to analyze the evolution of Petrobras' market value over the years. In February 2012, the company was worth R$320 billion. At that time, then-president Dilma Rousseff (PT) had elected Graça Foster as president of the company.
However, two years later, Paulo Roberto Costa – former director of the state-owned company – was arrested for Operation Lava Jato, which had just hit Petrobras. This scenario, added to the price control policy that was being exercised by the PT government, caused the company to enter a deep crisis.
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Thus, in February 2015, when the company's presidency was assumed by Aldemir Bendine, Petrobras had already suffered the loss of two thirds of its market value, which was now equivalent to R$ 128 billion. In an attempt to improve the situation, Bendine carried out a series of resignations to purge political appointments and began selling assets to reduce debt, but was unsuccessful in mitigating the crisis.
Petrobras' price parity policy was instituted by Pedro Parente in 2016
At the end of May 2016, with the recent impeachment of Dilma Rousseff and the beginning of the term of Michel Temer (MDB), Pedro Parente was appointed the new president of Petrobras, thus establishing the controversial policy of price parity between Brazil and the outside.
In this way, the company's condition began to improve, with a reduction in debt and an increase in the value of market. However, on the other hand, the new pricing policy led to a general strike by truck drivers in the country, which led to the resignation of Pedro Parente and the appointment of the company's then financial director, Ivan Monteiro.
Monteiro maintained the international parity, despite the pressure suffered, which allowed the state-owned company to continue growing. Therefore, when Jair Bolsonaro (PL) took office in 2019, Petrobras' market value was R$ 333 billion.
In the following years, even in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, the constant changes in command of the company carried out by Bolsonaro and, more recently, the war in Ukraine, the value of Petrobras was maintained and, due to the rise in oil prices, reached rising, reaching R$ 473 billion in April this year.
New exchange of Petrobras presidents is related to the drop in market value
However, this scenario has changed in recent times. The pressure from the government Bolsonaro against the readjustments in fuel prices and the announcement that the command of the company would be passed from José Mauro Ferreira Coelho to Caio Mário Paes de Andrade caused the market value of Petrobras to fall by R$ 475 billion, in May of this year, to R$379 billion, on June 20th.
Only from the 16th to the 17th of June, when a new increase in fuel prices was announced by the state-owned company and there were criticisms from Jair Bolsonaro and Arthur Lira (PL-AL), the market value fell by R$ 27 billion .
In all, R$ 96 billion less, which is equivalent to 20% of the company's value.
