Cash flow moves higher for Petrobras
Brazilian energy company Petrobras said August 5 that free cash flow during the second quarter jumped some 70% sequentially, though it added that cash would be used to pay down debt.
Known formally as Petroleo Brasileiro, the company reported free cash flow of $9.3bn, up from the $5.6bn realised during Q1 2021 and a vast improvement over the $3bn posted during Q2 2020.
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“The year 2021 is still a transition year, in which Petrobras still allocates much of its cash generation to prepaying debt, with the goal of reaching gross debt of $60 billion,” the company said.
The company put its current debt burden at around $64bn.
The Brazilian national energy company is in the midst of a sweeping divestment programme aimed at paying down its debt and freeing up capital for deepwater offshore projects
It signed contracts last month related to the sale of interests in two power generation companies to local firm Global Participacoes em Energia (GPE) for $31.5mn.
Petrobras also agreed last week to sell a 51% interest in gas distribution holding company Gaspetro to Compass, a subsidiary of Brazilian energy group Cosan, for $400mn
At $21bn, Petrobras said second quarter revenue was 33.7% higher than first quarter levels, an improvement driven primarily by the increase in commodity prices. In the domestic market, oil products revenue of $12bn marked a 27.4% increase over Q1, while natural gas revenue of $1.3bn was 28.5% better than during the first quarter.