Brazilian state oil giant Petrobras on Thursday reported a first-quarter net profit of 44.6 billion reais ($8.6 billion), amid sharp criticism from President Jair Bolsonaro over rising fuel prices.
The result was 38 times more than the 2021 first quarter, when the company reported 1.2 billion reais ($180 million).
It was also a 41 percent increase over the 31.5 billion reais ($5.6 billion) profit from the previous quarter.
The company reported a nearly $10-billion payout to shareholders.
Just before the results were released, Bolsonaro was back to berating the company.
“Your profits are a violation. Fuel prices cannot go up anymore,” the president said during his regular live Thursday address.
The oil giant has long been a target for Bolsonaro, who in March sacked its president, Joaquim Silva e Luna — an army reserve general whom Bolsonaro had himself appointed a year ago — over differences in fuel pricing policies.
The new president of the company, Jose Mauro Coelho, who is backed by Bolsonaro, said in a statement the strong results were thanks to a “healthy Petrobras, which reduced its debt payment charges, invests in a responsible manner and operates with efficiency.”
The company issued an 18.8-percent increase in the price of gasoline and a nearly 25-percent increase in diesel prices in early March due to rising costs caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The average price of a barrel of Brent oil in the first quarter of 2022 was $101, Petrobras said.
The company’s price increases have helped contribute to inflation, which threatens far-right Bolsonaro’s chances in his October reelection bid.