Petrobras Plans $34 Billion in Dividends by 2024 as Debt Shrinks
- Company had kept payouts at or close to minimum required
- CEO expects gross debt to fall to $60 billion in 2021
This article is for subscribers only.
Petroleo Brasileiro SA plans to pay its shareholders $34 billion in dividends over the next five years as it cuts debt and sells assets to shore up its finances, Chief Executive Officer Roberto Castello Branco said.
The plan is a major shift for the state-controlled oil producer that had kept payouts to investors at or close to the bare minimum required by law in Brazil since 2018, after suspending them altogether in 2015 as it grappled with an oil industry downturn and a massive corruption probe. Distribution for 2018 was about $1.7 billion.