Saudi giant Aramco quarterly profits drop 19%
ALBAWABA – Saudi oil giant Aramco posted the financial report for the first quarter of the year 2023 (Q1-2023), citing a 19 percent decline in net income compared to the same period in 2022, as reported by CNBC.
In Q1-2022, the company made $39.5 billion in profits, compared to $31.9 billion by the end of March this year.
Notably, Reuters analysts forecasted the Saudi oil company’s profits would decline in the first three months of the year to around $30.5 billion.
According to Reuters, fluctuating oil prices were expected to affect Saudi Arabia's oil revenues; Aramco's included. Especially in light of rising interest rates.
However, Aramco’s net profits actually exceeded the analysts’ expectations. Compared to Q4-2022, the company’s profits grew by 3.75 percent.
Since the beginning of 2023, Oil prices have been rising and dropping more frequently, and earlier on Tuesday, oil dropped again ahead of U.S. inflation data.
Based on the data, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board may be inclined to raise interest rates again, pushing down on oil.
Aramco 2022 dividends
The company’s 2022 dividends also grew to $19.5 billion, as announced on Tuesday.
Aramco's overall success is partly due to the company’s increasing focus on petrochemicals. In addition to other added-value operations, according to company CEO Amin Nasser.
The oil giant is “leveraging cutting-edge technologies to increase liquids-to-chemicals capacity and meet anticipated demand for petrochemical products.”
In a statement carried by CNBC, Nasser emphasized the value of Aramco's downstream strategy. But “oil and gas will remain critical components of the global energy mix for the foreseeable future,” he added.
Aramco is the world’s largest oil exporter. The company posted a record net income of $161.1 billion for 2022 in March, up by 46.5 percent over the year.
