The Saudi oil company Aramco announced, on Tuesday, that its profits declined by 44.6% in the third quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, in light of the repercussions of the outbreak of the Corona virus in the world and its impact on oil demand and prices.
The giant company achieved net profits of 11.79 billion dollars in the third quarter of the year, compared to 21.3 billion dollars in the same quarter of 2019, bringing its profits to 35.2 billion dollars this year, a decrease of 48.6%. For last year.
Aramco said in a statement published by the Saudi Stock Exchange "Tadawul" on its website that the results "mainly reflect the impact of lower crude oil prices, sales volumes, and weak profit margins in the refining and chemicals business."
Aramco's results revealed that between July and September, an improvement compared to the second quarter, when it posted a profit of $ 6.57 billion.
Amin Al-Nasser, Aramco president and chief executive officer, said: "We started to see initial signs of recovery in energy demand during the third quarter regarding the improvement of economic activities, despite the challenges facing global energy markets."
And he added, "We will continue to adopt a disciplined and flexible approach to allocating capital in the face of market fluctuations, and we are confident in Saudi Aramco's ability to lead in difficult times and achieve its goals."
Al-Nasser indicated that Aramco is committed to distributing dividends to shareholders worth $ 18.75 billion for the third quarter, an amount that exceeds the profits announced.
"Aramco's dividends are now much greater than its income," said Tariq Fadlallah, chief executive of the Middle East unit at Nomura Asset Management, adding, "This is not a problem if oil revives next year, but it will be a big problem if it doesn't happen." ".
Several oil companies around the world recorded huge declines in their profits, and even losses, including "Expo Mobil" and "Chevron".
Analysts confirmed to "Agence France Presse" that energy companies are preparing for new waves of infections with the Coronavirus, which may undermine the efforts of the global economic recovery and demand for oil around the world.
For its part, Bloomberg Financial Agency reported in June that the company had cut its capital spending this year and also cut hundreds of jobs as it seeks to cut costs.
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, was hit hard by the double whammy of low prices and sharp production declines.
The sharp drop in crude revenues is expected to derail the young crown prince, Prince Mohammed bin Salman's ambitious plans to diversify the kingdom's oil-dependent economy.
Aramco was listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange in December after the largest initial public offering in the world, with a value of $ 29.4 billion, against selling 1.7% of its shares.
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