Colombia's Ecopetrol posts 61% drop in quarterly profit

BOGOTA, March 4 (Reuters) - Colombia's state oil producer Ecopetrol ECO.CN on Wednesday reported a 60.8% drop in fourth-quarter profits from a year earlier, driven by lower Brent crude oil prices, lower domestic gas sales, and the effects of a weaker exchange rate.

Net profit for the quarter came in at 1.53 trillion Colombian pesos ($403 million) from total sales that fell 17.2% to 28.82 trillion pesos, the company said in a filing to Colombia's stock exchange.

Ecopetrol, whose shares are 88.5% held by the Colombian government, saw total oil and gas production decline slightly by 0.1% from the same quarter of 2024 to 729,200 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed).

While overall production fell, crude oil output grew 3% year-on-year to 574,800 barrels per day.

“We are recording the highest domestic crude oil production in the last five years,” Ecopetrol CEO Ricardo Roa said at a press conference.

The company reaffirmed it expects total output to increase to 735,000 boed in 2026.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) dropped 16.2% year-on-year in the quarter to 9.96 trillion pesos.

Roa said the company projects drilling 10 exploratory wells this year. In 2025, the company exceeded its 2025 drilling target, completing 16 oil wells against a goal of 10.

In November, the company announced an investment plan for 2026 ranging from 22 trillion pesos to 27 trillion pesos ($5.79 billion to $7.11 billion).

($1 = 3,797.64 pesos)