Brazil's Petrobras reports 7.2 bln USD losses in 2014

Brazil's state oil giant Petrobras reported 21.587 billion reals (7.2 billion U.S. dollars) in losses in 2014, some 6.2 billion reals (2.1 billion dollars) siphoned off by a corruption scheme, the company said Wednesday.

It was the first time Petrobras has recorded annual losses since 1991. In 2013, Petrobras posted profits of 23.6 billion reals (7.86 billion dollars).

Petrobras postponed the release of its 3Q14 results because of an investigation into a major corruption scheme at the company, which implied considerable losses. The third quarter figures were also announced on Wednesday -- Petrobras had losses of 5.3 billion reals (1.77 billion dollars) in the period.

The company has been going through a rough time since the beginning of the investigation last year, and both of its common and preferred stocks fell some 37 percent in 2014. Its CEO Graca Foster resigned in January 2015 and several members of the company's board were replaced over the past months.

The release of the reviewed results is regarded as a necessary and important step towards regaining some of its lost credibility in the market.

According to the company, the losses were mainly due to the devaluation of assets -- impairment, provisions for losses in the electric sector, provisions for a pay-to-quit program, and the losses incurred in the corruption scheme.

The balance states that Petrobras lost 6.2 billion reals (2.1 billion dollars) with the corruption scheme only in 2014. Out of those, 3.3 billion reals (1.1 billion dollars) were lost in the supply sector, which used to be headed by Paulo Roberto Costa.

Costa was one of the heads of the corruption scheme. Earlier Wednesday, he was found guilty on a count of money laundering and criminal association, related to embezzlement in the construction of a Petrobras refinery, and was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison. As he is a defendant in other counts of corruption, he may receive additional jail time.

Petrobras' new CEO Ademir Bendine said that the company crossed a barrier with the release of the audited results, and praised Petrobras' capacity for recovery.

Petrobras' investments fell 17 percent from 2013, totaling 87.1 billion reals (29 million dollars). The company said that it will not pay dividends to its shareholders in 2015.

The company also posted some positive news: the production of oil and natural gas in Brazil and abroad grew 5 percent compared to 2013, reaching an average 2.669 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Out of those, 381,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day originated from the new pre-salt reserves.

Four new platforms started operation and 87 new wells were connected to the platforms, and production of oil byproducts rose 2 percent from 2013 to 2.17 million barrels per day. Endi