(MEBG) – Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic) has announced that the company’s net profits for the first half more than quadrupled to $549 million (2.06 billion riyals), compared to the same period a year earlier.
Sabic Managing Director Mohammed Hamad Al Mady attributed the company’s improved performance to higher world petrochemical prices, increased output and lower operating costs.
Sabic's second-quarter production rose by 11 percent to 13.6 million tons year on year, and sales increased by 8 percent to 10.6 million tons. Mady did not provide details on Sabic’s efforts to curb expenses.
Sabic’s two new ethylene glycol plants are on stream.. The total output is 900,000 ton per year. The facttories, operated by Eastern Petrochemical Co (Sharq) and Yanbu Petrochemical Co (Yanpet) cost about $700 million to build.
One plant alone raised the output capacity of Sharq to 1.4 million tons of ethylene glycol. Yanpet, a joint venture involving Sabic and the U.S. Mobil Corp, saw its ethylene glycol production capacity rise to 800,000 tons after the new plant came on stream.
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
