RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Brazil' s state-controlled oil and gas giant Petrobras reported its net profits of 4.8 billion reals (1.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2017, the company said on Thursday.
The figures are a sharp contrast from the 876-million-real (276 million U.S. dollars) reported in the same period last year and show Petrobras' recovery from the scandals which distracted and undermined the company in the past few years.
According to Petrobras, the positive results reflect a general improvement in the company's operational performance, despite lower domestic sales of oil byproducts. In addition, there was a raise in the income originated from exports, as oil prices rose and the volume of exports increased.
Petrobras' total production of oil and gas totaled 2.79 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe). Domestic production rose six percent to 2.67 million boe, aided by Platform P-66 becoming operational in May.
Oil byproducts' domestic sales amounted to 1.94 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, down seven percent from the first half of 2016. Exports of oil and gas rose 48 percent, while imports fell 25 percent, which resulted in net exports to be 401,000 boe per day in the first half of year 2017.
The company's free cash flow rose 70 percent, reaching 22.7 billion reals (7.1 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2017, and its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization rose six percent to 44.3 billion reals (13.9 billion U.S. dollars) in the meantime.
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