Oil Giant Petrobras Was Most Profitable Company in Brazil in 2018

By Lise Alves, Senior Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Petrobras was the most profitable company in 2018, with a reported profit of R$25.8 billion, according to a survey conducted by Economatica. The government-run oil giant was followed by mining company Vale, which registered a profit of R$25.7 billion.

“Petrobras’ performance in 2018 was undoubtedly the best in many years, which includes obtaining some historical records, involving free cash flow and adjusted Ebitda, and the interruption of four years of losses,” said Petrobras president, Roberto Castello Branco, in a letter sent to the market at the end of February.

According to the economic consultancy group, the most profitable sector in 2018 was the banking sector, with Itau Unibanco leading the way and registering profits of R$24.9 billion last year. Itau Unibanco was followed by Bradesco, with profits of R$19.0 billion.

Economatica surveyed twenty-two financial institutions and found that together they registered an annual total profit of R$74.6 billion, versus R$62.7 billion registered in 2017.

The food and beverage sector registered the two largest losses registered in 2018, with meat processing giant, BRF registering losses of R$4.4 billion and Minerva, another livestock processing company, with registered losses of R$1.3 billion.

Overall, however, the construction sector was the sector with the highest consolidated losses in 2018, with R$2.83 billion. MRV has the highest profit and Mendes Junior registered the highest loss in 2018.

The sample above does not consider Petrobras, Eletrobrás and Oi. Considering the three companies Petrobras, Eletrobras and Oi SA, the profit of 311 companies in 2018 is R $ 241.1 billion against R $ 116.5 billion in 2017, growth of R $ 124.5 billion or 106.8% .

Of the 311 companies in the survey, which included Petrobras, Eletrobras and Oi, 80 companies reported losses in 2018, while 118 companies registered a decline in profitability.