Petrobras posts biggest-ever loss

Rio de Janeiro

BRAZILIAN state-run oil company Petrobras reported its biggest-ever loss on Wednesday, the result of a 50.8-billion-real (S$22.7 billion) write-down in the wake of a massive corruption scandal.

The 2014 full-year net loss of 21.6 billion reais, which exceeds the company's total accumulated profit for nearly four years, comes as new Chief Executive Aldemir Bendine seeks to restore investor confidence. A widening international probe of contract fixing, bribery and political kickbacks at the company, formally called Petroleo Brasileiro, led to lengthy delays in publishing the results.