Saudi Petro Rabigh reports fall in Q2 profit

Saudi Arabia’s Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company (Petro Rabigh), a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical, saw a 26 per cent decline in second-quarter net profit, due to lower refined products margin.

The company, which operates a 400,000 barrel per day refinery on Saudi Arabia’s western Red Sea coast, posted 235 million Saudi riyals (Dh230m) net profit for the second quarter of 2018, compared with 316m riyals for the same period last year.

Despite a lower products margin, the company’s profitability for the quarter was partially offset by “improved petrochemical products sales prices and quantities”, Petro Rabigh said.

Gross profit for the quarter, however, increased 4.57 per cent to 664m riyals, while operational profit for the same period declined 18.58 per cent to 333m riyals. Net profit for the first six months of the year rose to 531m riyals from 76m riyals in 2017 – a 598.68 per cent jump, which Rabigh said was due to its petchems products being sold at higher prices and volumes.

Gross profit for the first half more than doubled to 1.43 billion riyals from 700m riyals for the same period last year. Rabigh also saw sales for the second quarter rise 21 per cent to 10.7bn riyals from 8.8bn riyals last year. Total sales for the first half was 20.59bn riyals, an increase of 33 per cent over the same period last year.

Total comprehensive income for the chemicals operator declined 26 per cent year-on-year to 235m riyals. Shareholders equity stood at 10.3bn riyals, an increase of 21 per cent from the 8,52bn riyals registered at year-end.