10/23/2023 – 20:57
Petrobras shares closed down 6% this Monday (23), after its board of directors presented a proposal for changes to the company’s bylaws that displeased investors, fearful of a reduction in dividends, according to analysts.
The oil company’s common share (PETR3) fell 6.03%, after operating sharply lower since the beginning of trading. The preferred one (PETR4) fell 6.61%. In this way, Petrobras dragged the Ibovespa to a decline of 0.33%, to 112,785 points.
The Petrobras Board of Directors informed, through a statement, its proposal to “create a capital remuneration reserve”. According to the note, the reserve aims to “guarantee resources for the payment of dividends”, as well as the repurchase of shares or the absorption of losses.
The announcement was not received with optimism by the market, which fears a negative effect on the distribution of extraordinary dividends, according to analysts cited by the press.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has criticized the lucrative payments to shareholders by Petrobras, which would be made, according to him, to the detriment of Brazilian society.
Petrobras’ management informed that the dividend distribution policy remains unchanged and that the reserve will be constituted after payment. But this policy had already been revised in July, limiting dividends paid to shareholders.
The proposal, which involves a review of the company’s bylaws, must still be approved by shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting, which will be called “in due course”, according to the note.
On the other hand, the Petrobras Board of Directors proposed making executive appointments more flexible. This “raises the alarm regarding state interference in the company”, analyzed Heitor Martins, investment strategist at Nexgen Capital.
The company’s current statute provides an additional layer of protection in relation to possible political intervention in the company’s direction, according to a note from Goldman Sachs.
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