Petrobras Taking Graft-linked Q4 Writedown

Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras is likely to take a corruption-related charge against earnings in its 2014 fourth-quarter audited financial statement expected by the end of April, a source with direct knowledge of the company's plans told Reuters on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the board of Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known, declined to take a corruption-related writedown investors had expected as part of its delayed unaudited third-quarter financial statements.

The source asked for anonymity because no authorization had been given to speak to the press.

Reporting by Jeb Blount and Marta Nogueira