Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and SAFCO Chairman and Managing Director announced that the Saudi Arabian Fertilizers Co. (SAFCO) reports net profits of SR 3.744 billion during the first nine months of 2008, compared with SR 1.466 billion in the same period in 2007, an increase of 155 percent. This has lead to the rise of the share profit to SR 14.98 compared with SR 5.87 in the same period last year (based on the existing number of 250 million shares).
Operating profits by end of the 3rd Quarter of 2008 were SR 3.570 billion compared with SR 1.415 billion in the same period of 2007, an increase of 152 percent. 3Q2008 saw the highest-ever profits reported in one quarter since SAFCO’s inception. Profits for the third quarter of 2008 were SR 1.83 billion compared with SR 616.2 million in the same period last year. The increase of 197 percent was primarily due to improvement in prices of products. Al-Mady lauded the efforts of the members of the board of directors and employees. He urged everyone to double efforts to achieve further milestones.
About SABIC
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) is the world’s 5th largest petrochemicals company. The company is among the world’s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
SABIC’s profit rose to a record SR 27 billion (US$ 7.2 billion) in 2007, a 33% increase over 2006. Sales revenues for 2007 totalled SR 126.2 billion (US$ 33.7 billion), the highest revenues achieved by the company since its inception. Total assets stood at SR 256 billion (US$ 68.3 billion) at the end of 2007.
SABIC operates six interlinked strategic business units: Basic Chemicals, Intermediates, Specialty Products, Polymers, Fertilizers and Metals. In 2007 SABIC Innovative Plastics was launched as a global manufacturer and supplier of highly engineered thermoplastics. SABIC has significant research resources and has 16 dedicated Research and Technology and application centers in the Middle East, the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The company operates in more than 40 countries across the world with over 31,000 employees worldwide.
In Saudi Arabia, the company has 20 world-scale complexes and 19 of them are located in the industrial cities of Al-Jubail and Yanbu. Some of these complexes are operated with multi-national joint venture partners such as ExxonMobil, Shell and Mitsubishi Chemicals. Elsewhere, SABIC manufactures on a global scale in more than 45 countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. SABIC’s overall production has increased from 27 million metric tons in 2001 to 55 million metric tons in 2007.
Headquartered in Riyadh, SABIC was founded in 1976 when the Saudi Arabian Government decided to use the hydrocarbon gases associated with its oil production as the principal feedstock for production of chemicals, polymers and fertilizers. The Saudi Arabian Government owns 70 percent of SABIC shares with the remaining 30 percent held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
