Petrobras Falls Far Short Of Analysts’ Expectations

State-run Brazilian oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA (NYSE:PBR) (NYSE:PBR.A) shocked markets by reporting a loss for its June quarter while all analysts expected a profit.

The company reported a net loss of 1.35 billion reais (about $666 million), while analysts in a Bloomberg survey expected an average of 2.94 billion real profit. Significantly, it was the first quarterly loss declared by the company in almost 13 years, and not surprisingly, the ADR opened with a sizable downside gap before recouping losses – it currently trades at $20.46, up 0.64 percent.

A major reason for the loss was the...