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Petrobras third most profitable firm in America
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-13 10:33

RIO DE JANEIRO-- Brazil's state-owned oil and gas giant Petrobras has become the third most profitable company in the American Continent, after US oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron Texaco, local media said on Tuesday.

The consulting company Economatica based its study on the second-quarter balances of 2008 of the surveyed enterprises, which did not include Candadian firms.

Petrobras reported a record high net profit of 8.7 billion reais ($5.518 billion) in the second quarter of 2008, surpassing U.S. oil giant ConocoPhllips and General Electric, whose net profit stood at $5.439 billion and $5.072 billion respectively.

It represented an annual increase of 29-percent thanks to rising prices of oil and petroleum products, as well as a surge in production.

Net profit for Exxon Mobil, the most profitable company on the Economatica list, was $11.68 billion in the same period, while Chevron Texaco posted a net earning of $5.97 billion.

Another Brazilian company, the mining firm Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, was found in the 14th place on the list with a net profit of 2.87 billion reais ($1.79 billion).