Just over two months after assuming the presidency of Petrobras (PETR4), Caio Paes de Andrade is taking the first steps to change directors at the state-owned company.
The first change, defined last week and communicated yesterday to the market, occurs in the Digital Transformation and Innovation directorate: out comes Juliano de Carvalho Dantas and in comes Paulo Palaia, former director of Gol (GOLL4).
The executive is close to Paes de Andrade and has a robust resume in the area, which would shield his appointment.
The tendency is that this is the first of a series of changes in the board of directors.
To be effective, Palaia’s name must be ratified by the Personnel Committee (Cope) and by the board of directors, which should not represent resistance.
Both instances are more aligned to the Planalto since the changes of the Union’s representatives on the board, on the 19th.
As reported by Estadão/Broadcast last week, Cope is about to be occupied only by board members appointed by the Union, without minority representatives, which would facilitate a faster advancement of nominations.
Palaia’s name had been circulating for months in Brasília for a top position at Petrobras, but, like other intended changes, did not prosper due to resistance to any government interference in the internal governance structures of the state-owned company and the former board of directors.
Behind the scenes, the government is planning changes in at least three of the eight directorates.
As recently as June, Bolsonaro said in an interview on Itatiaia radio in Belo Horizonte that “obviously” Paes de Andrade would change his directors.
“I can’t be elected president, take office and not change the ministers,” he said in analogy.
He then said that new directors would give another dynamic to the company in relation to the import parity pricing policy (PPI).
Today, with four reductions in gasoline and two in diesel in just a month and a half, the theory is circulating that changing the company’s pricing strategy to induce a drop in prices may no longer be necessary.
For now, Paes de Andrade’s mission is made easier by the decrease in the international quotations for oil barrels and even for fuels.
Before the favorable situation, sources at the state-owned company talked about changes in the technology directorate, which is underway, but also in the Institutional Relations directorate, today headed by Rafael Chaves, an economist at the Central Bank, and in the financial and investor relations area, today headed by accountant Rodrigo Araújo.
The latter enjoys the confidence of the body of shareholders as a result of the state-owned company’s recent good financial performance, with an increase in net income, debt reduction, and distribution of record dividends.
Among the Petrobras directorships that would be in the Planalto’s sights, only the financial one has interference in price formation.
The others – technology and institutional relations – do not participate in this decision, which leaves a question mark for interlocutors in the company.
One of the theses discussed is the weight of these areas, which command, respectively, the funds for innovation and communication of the state-owned company.
Petrobras Results for the Second Quarter of 2022
The results of Petrobras (PETR4) concerning its operations in 2Q22, were released on July 28, and showed a net profit of R$ 54.3 billion in 2Q22, up 26.8% compared to the same quarter last year.
Petrobras’ adjusted Ebitda reached R$98.3 billion in 2Q22, up 58.6% compared to 2Q21.
Petrobras’ adjusted Ebitda margin totaled 57.5% in 2Q22, up 1.6 percentage points compared to 2Q21.
Petrobras’ net margin reached 31.8% in 2Q22, a decrease of -6.9 percentage points compared to 2Q21.
Petrobras’ shares (PETR4) have accumulated a 7.42% drop in the stock market in the last 7 days and a 101.57% rise in the last 12 months.