RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's state-controlled oil and gas giant Petrobras started on Thursday early interest payments on capital.

According to the company, the amount to be distributed totals 652.2 million reals (159 million U.S. dollars) and corresponds to a gross amount of 0.05 reals (0.01 U.S. dollar) per share, based on shareholding positions as of Aug. 13, 2018.

The amount is subject to income tax except for exempt shareholders. Amounts unclaimed for three years will return to the company, according to current law.

The early payment of interest on capital was first announced by Petrobras on Aug. 3, when the company disclosed its second quarter balance.

Petrobras registered net profits of 10 billion reals (2.4 billion U.S. dollars) in the second quater, up 45 percent from the first quarter of the year.

The profits were the best quarterly result the company had since 2011. Petrobras has suffered heavy losses in the past few years due to a combination of a sharp decrease in oil prices and the extensive investigations which uncovered a large corruption scheme in the company.