Petrobras Earnings Preview: Brazilian Oil Giant Expected To Emerge From Third Quarter Loss In Q4

Petrobras, Brazil’s scandal-hit state-run oil company, will report its fourth quarter and full-year earnings after stock markets close Tuesday. Analysts expect Petrobras, currently reeling under one of the world’s largest corruption scandals, to report revenue of $23.45 billion in the fourth quarter — unchanged from a year earlier — and annual revenue of $89.75 billion — down 3.5 percent from 2014.

In the three-month period ending December 2015, the company’s net income is expected to come in at $1.05 billion, emerging from a third quarter net loss of $1.03 billion, or $0.08 per share.

Earlier, in April 2015, as a result of the write-downs stemming from the global oil price crash, the company posted a loss of $5.96 billion on revenue of $93 billion for the full-year 2014. For 2015, Petrobras is expected to report net income of $1.27 billion.

However, the company's weak fundamentals may have an adverse impact on the fourth quarter results. The company’s net debt-to-capitalization ratio was nearly 57 percent in third-quarter of 2015, making it one of the most indebted firms in the world.

So far this year, Petrobras has outperformed the broad markets with the stock rising over 21 percent. Over the past 12 months, however, the company’s shares have dropped 12.4 percent.