BOGOTA, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Colombia's majority state-owned oil producer Ecopetrol (ECO.CN) , opens new tab on Wednesday reported a 28% drop in third-quarter net profit to 3.65 trillion pesos ($826.95 million) from the same period last year, chiefly citing a fall in the value of the Colombian peso.

Total sales meanwhile slipped 1.5% to 34.61 trillion pesos in the July through September period, even as output rose slightly, Ecopetrol said in a statement.

In the first nine months of 2024, Ecopetrol's net profit fell 26% versus the year-earlier period to 11.04 trillion pesos.

"If our accounting were not in pesos but in dollars, we would be reporting a net profit today not of 11 trillion but of practically 16 trillion pesos," Ecopetrol chief executive Ricardo Roa said during a press conference, referring to the nine-month figure.

"If you take away or normalize the impact of the exchange rate, that affects these results by 67%," he said.

Along with the impact of the stronger dollar on the Colombian peso, Ecopetrol said the results were also affected by weaker oil prices and inflation.

The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) - a key metric for analysts - fell 13% in the third quarter versus the year earlier period to 14 trillion pesos, Ecopetrol said.

EBITDA in the nine months ended Sept. 30 declined 13% to 42.3 trillion pesos, the company said.

Ecopetrol's total production in the third quarter rose by 1.8% year-on-year to 754,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), pushed higher by the company's operations in the Permian basin in the United States.

The company plans to invest between 23 trillion and 27 trillion pesos in 2024.

($1 = 4,413.79 Colombian pesos)

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https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/colombias-ecopetrol-posts-third-quarter-profit-down-28-2024-11-13/