Petrobras Sidebar: Transparency Drives IR
Courtesy Petrobras
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Ultra deep-water oil exploration isn’t the only strong suit at Petrobras. For the fourth time in five years, the Rio de Janeiro-based energy company has been recognized by Investor Relations magazine as the best in Brazil for providing clear, understandable financial information to individual investors. Alexandre Quintao Fernandes, managing coordinator of investor relations at Petrobras, believes the award “reflects the market’s recognition that the company is transparent, that investors can find financial information easily on our Website, and that we provide equal treatment to all investors regardless of how many shares they hold.” The effort is paying off: Petrobras now has 1 million shareholders, a 40 percent increase since 2007.
To be sure, some of that growth came from the home crowd, an audience that Petrobras will continue to court, the company says. In the wake of 2008’s global economic downturn, local investors held onto to their investments — and even increased them — while their foreign counterparts fled the Brazilian market. According to the Brazilian Investor Relations Institute, the number of individual investors in that country barely budged during the recession, with the number of retail investors staying steady at 500,000. But by attending international conferences, bank seminars and retail investors’ exhibitions, Fernandes says Petrobras has been able to keep a high profile, which has made it easier to attract and keep foreign investors. Not to be over overlooked is the company’s expansive access to lucrative oil finds off the coast of Brazil — which he says is a sure attraction to potential shareholders and one of the big reasons Petrobras has earned a spot as the only Brazilian company on the Fortune 40, the magazine’s list of the best stocks to retire on.
