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The Saudi state-owned company Saudi Aramco, the largest oil company in the world, sees its profits more than double. Thanks to the revival in demand and the increased oil prices.
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In the third quarter, Aramco posted a profit of 114.1 billion riyals (26.3 billion euros), compared to 44.2 billion riyals (10.2 billion euros) in the same period last year. This is an increase of 158%. The oil company thus performed better than the 25.2 billion euros that analysts had expected. This makes Aramco the most profitable company in the world again, ahead of the American technology group Apple.
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“The increase in net profit was mainly due to higher crude oil prices and volumes sold,” explains Aramco. “The global economy is still experiencing some headwinds, including supply chain bottlenecks, but we are optimistic that energy demand will remain healthy for the foreseeable future,” said CEO Amin Nasser.
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As a result of the sharp increase in profits, Aramco was able to more than cover its quarterly dividend of 70.3 billion riyals (16.2 billion euros) with free cash flow. It amounted to 107.7 billion riyals (24.8 billion euros) in the third quarter.
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Global recovery
The major oil companies are reaping the benefits of the global economic recovery after the corona crash. That pushed the price of crude oil up by 65 percent this year.
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In addition, Aramco was also helped by higher oil production after Saudi Arabia ended supply restrictions that were part of an agreement within oil cartel OPEC+. Between July and September, the kingdom produced an average of 9.6 million barrels per day, up from 8.5 million in the second quarter.
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