The Zhitong Finance App learned that Petrobras (PBR.US) announced the results for the third quarter of 2026 after the market on November 10 EST. Sales revenue for the quarter was US$32.962 billion, up 40.4% year on year; net profit (back to mother) was US$7.740 billion, up 28.4% year on year; net profit excluding one-time items was US$9.316 billion, up 78.0% year on year. Adjusted EBITDA (excluding one-time items) reached US$18.394 billion, an increase of 53.9% year over year. Operating cash flow of USD 12.026 billion and free cash flow of USD 6.618 billion represented increases of 22% and 33.2%, respectively, year over year.
“Our operating performance was extremely strong,” CEO Magda Chambriard said in the earnings report: “We once again achieved record oil and gas production this quarter, pushing the company's production curve to an unprecedented level. Production guidelines at the beginning of the year pointed to an average daily production of 3.1 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2026, but we currently expect an average of 3.3 million to 3.4 million barrels of oil equivalent. This performance reflects our ability to manage operations and maximize the potential of our assets.” She also stressed that the refining business recorded a record diesel production during the quarter, and the average utilization rate of refineries reached 99%, “essential to ensure Brazil's energy security during the geopolitical crisis.”
Chief Financial Officer Fernando Melgarejo said, “This quarter's outstanding operating performance has led to strong cash generation. These funds support investments that are speeding up project implementation and enabling new production capacity to be put into operation as soon as possible. Operating cash flow also ensures shareholder dividend payments and helps reduce the company's financial debt. We are accelerating the profitable investments that make up the company's unique asset portfolio and will continue to create value through growth and operating cash flow.”
The core support for the performance comes from record production. The company's average oil and gas equivalent production reached 3.512 million barrels of oil equivalent per day during the quarter, up 11.7% year on year and 5.3% month on month, setting a new historical record; diesel production also set a record of 769,000 b/d, and the refinery utilization rate remained high at 99%. The company attributed this to new platform climbing for projects such as Búzios and Mero in the Yanxia Oilfield, and the highest production efficiency in nearly eight years — a total of 12 new production wells were put into operation during the season (6 each in the Campos Basin and Santos Basin). Benefiting from the effects of scale, Brazil's mining costs fell to $6.12 per barrel of oil equivalent, the lowest since the third quarter of 2024, with salt extraction costs only $4.48 per barrel of oil equivalent.
By sector, the adjusted EBITDA of the exploration and production (E&P) sector for the quarter was US$12.686 billion, up 16.2% year on year, but fell 20.1% from month to month, mainly due to the fall in Brent oil prices (average price of 97 US dollars/barrel for the quarter, down 7.2% month-on-month) and about 140,000 barrels/day of crude oil still in transit and exports at the end of the quarter were not included in the current period; the refining, transportation and marketing (RTM) department's adjusted EBITDA of US$5.888 billion, a sharp increase of 363% year on year, became the brightest segment for the quarter. Driven by increased oil sales (diesel sales +14.4% month-on-month, aviation kerosene +9.9%), and increased margins on fuel oil exports and crude oil exports. The gas and low carbon energy (G&LCE) sector's adjusted EBITDA was US$521 million, up 156.7% year over year, supported by fixed income growth brought about by the entry into force of the Electricity Capacity Reserve Auction (LRCAP) contract in August.
Financial soundness continues to improve. As of the end of September, net debt was $57.847 billion, down 4.2% from the previous month; the net debt/EBITDA ratio after adjustment for the past 12 months fell to 1.00 times (1.53 times the same period last year), and the total debt/adjusted EBITDA ratio for the past 12 months was 1.21 times. The weighted average debt period was about 11.8 years, and the average cost was 6.7%. The company repaid approximately $2.1 billion in principal and interest during the quarter, including $1.2 billion in bonds repurchased and redeemed in international capital markets, and raised $1.2 billion in the international banking market during the same period. The board of directors approved Q3 shareholder returns of R$15.3 billion (approximately US$2.8 billion); payment of R$904 billion in taxes to the federal, state, and municipal governments for the quarter.
Notably, the company raised its full-year guidance significantly: production guidance was raised from 3.1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day at the beginning of the year; capital expenditure (portfolio of assets under construction) was raised from $19.4 billion to $24-255 billion (cash caliber increased from $16.9 billion to $210-22 billion); operating cash flow was raised from $35 billion to $45-50 billion; and lease payments were raised from $10 billion to $110.5 billion. The company emphasized that the increase in capital expenditure was not an overexpenditure on the project, but mainly reflected exchange rate effects and implementation progress that was superior to the plan — including factors such as Búzios, Atapu, and Sépia that exceeded expectations, increased drilling platform availability, increased number of well connections, and the localization of Búzios 9 and 10 FPSO plans in 2026.