Saudi Aramco maintains dividends payout despite sliding profits
ALBAWABA – Saudi Aramco profits amounted to nearly half of the combined profits of the world’s six largest energy companies in the third quarter of 2023, according to official data reported Tuesday.
The combined profits of the World’s six largest energy companies, including Saudi Aramco, in the three months through September, amounted to $66.8 billion, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Tuesday.
Despite Saudi Aramco profits dropping nearly 23 percent this last quarter, the company’s net income still comprised 49 percent of the combined profits of the top 6 companies, at a whopping $32.6 billion.
Notably, the top 6 energy companies in the world include Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Total, Shell and BP, as well as Saudi Aramco.
Combined, the remaining five made $34.2 billion in net profits in the third quarter of 2023.
Exxon Mobil made $9.1 billion, Shell made $7 billion, BP $4.9 billion, Chevron $6.5 billion and Total made $6.7 billion.
In comparison, Saudi Aramco’s profits were 260 percent of those of its closest competitor, Exxon Mobil, for the third quarter of 2023.
More so, Saudi Aramco also maintained its payout to the Saudi government and investors at $29.4 billion, helping state finances amid a widening budget deficit, according to Bloomberg.
Saudi Aramco is a main source of income for the Kingdom - Shutterstock
This comes at a time of turmoil in crude markets worldwide, with prices fluctuating and Saudi Arabia and Russia both forced to maintain output and supply cuts until the end of the year to bolster oil prices.
Saudi Arabia is keeping output at around 9 million barrels a day, about 1 million below the average over the past decade.
These cuts hit Saudi Aramco’s earnings in the third quarter, Bloomberg underscored, with oil prices fluctuating mostly below the $100 per barrel threshold, weighing on the company’s revenues.
Notably, Saudi Aramco profits reached an astonishing $42.43 billion in the same period last year in profits, as reported by AFP.
The decline "principally reflects the impact of lower crude oil prices and volumes sold", the firm said in a statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange.
Aramco reported record profits last year, totalling $161.1 billion, according to AFP, giving the kingdom its first annual budget surplus in nearly a decade.
Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, owns 90 percent of Saudi Aramco's shares, which is the jewel of the Saudi economy. It is the main source of revenue for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's sweeping economic and social reform programme known as Vision 2030. Ironically, the program aims to shift the Gulf kingdom away from reliance on fossil fuels.
