In the last trading session, the stock price of Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) declined more than 1% to close the day at $13.63. The decline came at a share volume of 22.79 million compared to average share volume of 16.59 million. Post the recent decline, the market cap of firm was noted at $51.5 billion.
The buzz
As per a report of Bloomberg, the man responsible for Petroleo’s recovery from rout and scandal could consider continuing with the job post the presidential election, as far as the state-controlled company maintains its independence under the upcoming government.
Pedro Parente has received praise for reducing the extensive debt load in the oil market even amid a price decline, settling a class action lawsuit with U.S. investors, and expanding company’s deep-water production fleet over a course of spending cuts. The election, planned for October, is reducing Parente’s timetable to lower leverage via asset sales and form associations with foreign oil majors.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Parente said that if he has the same conditions he has now, he may consider remaining in this job. What concerns him is that there remains no political interference. Though Parente’s mandate remains until March, 2019, Brazil’s upcoming administration could make use of its majority of Petroleo voting shares to engage a new chief executive next year.
Polling exhibits that most Brazilians aren’t in support of privatizing Petroleo even though the matter has been discussed in the presidential campaign. Henrique Meirelles, the finance minister of Brazil and a prospective presidential candidate, stated that he supports a gradual Petroleo privatization.
Parente added that this marks as not the right time to discuss all these matters. As of now, the sole focus should remain on the business. In unrelated news, the company stated that it is working on a fresh contract model for diesel and gasoline distributors in an attempt to recover market share.
